Be My Songbird
by Syrisna
Summary: She appeared during the war, saving Ace and Luffy from Akainu. Forcibly removing Whitebeard from Marine HQ, she single handedly turns the tables. Her reasons? No one knows except her. The Whitebeards are intrigued, and one phoenix can't help but feel drawn to her. Basically L but rewritten. Canon divergent. Alive Ace and Whitebeard. Rated T for language and stuff. Beta'd.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine._**

 ** _Beta'd by Anime Foxx & BlackFoxoftheMoon_**

 ** _Edited 6/20._**

* * *

 _Gently caressing soft tresses under her fingers, she watched_ _in silent contentment_ _the rise and falls of their chests as they slept, snuggled soundly within the warm haven of their blankets._

 _Her lips curled ever so slightly in a soft smile as she rose, making her way to the other side of the room. Various items were scattered across the wooden surface of the floor, and she moved soundlessly to pick them up; a blue top hat, a long, metal pipe, and a few sheets of paper that had been crudely drawn on._

 _One by one, she returned them to their proper places; the hat by the bed, the pipe next to it, and the drawings in a file. As she arranged the sheets neatly and slipped them into the file, a small thump draws her attention back to the sleepers._

 _One has flipped over, little body sprawled out haphazardly. A small voice could be heard with utmost clarity in the night, calling out for her._

Don't go…

 _She crossed the small space between them, kneeling to press her lips against_ _a dreaming child's forehead and whispered promises to stay by them._

Sweet dreams.

May you always be safe.

* * *

The skies were a dull grey, the vibrant blue hidden behind thick, heavy clouds with only the least amount of sunshine permeating it – as was the usual on a winter island.

At the southern edge of the island, where the evergreen forest that covered a good amount of the island ended, a cloaked figure dressed in black emerged from the tree line, leaving shallow imprints in the snow as they climbed a narrow path to the top of a cliff.

A large bird, almost twice their size, with downy feathers the colour of snow followed closely behind.

The frigid winter air blew harshly at the figure, a particularly strong gust of wind throwing off their hood to reveal a woman with long, dark hair. Ebony strands fluttered in the wind, plastered against pale skin while the rest were restrained in a woven braid that lay across the woman's shoulder.

The bird cried in worry for its mistress, only to be silenced by a simple wave of her hand. Pulling the hood back over her head, the woman withdrew several coins from the depths of a pocket hidden under the cloak and waited in silence for the distinct cry of a seagull.

She didn't have long to wait.

No sooner than a few minutes, a white bird wearing a postman's hat came, bearing a money box and a sling pouch stacked with rolls of the daily paper. The woman extended an arm, on which the bird lightly landed and looked at her expectantly.

The coins were inserted into the opening on the money box, and she retrieved a single roll before the seagull once again took off into the sky.

With the newly acquired paper, the woman made her way down the cliff and back into the forest, where the trees would shield her from the wind as she read the paper. The News Coo didn't like coming to winter islands much, and if she lost the papers to unfavourable weather, it would be too much trouble to procure another copy.

Deeper into the forest, the remnants of a campsite could be seen, the fire reduced to mere embers in the cold. The woman sat down in the snow, seemingly oblivious to the frigidity, and started to read.

The headlines caught her attention immediately.

 **WHITEBEARD PIRATES SECOND DIVISION COMMANDER – PORTGAS D. 'FIRE FIST' ACE CAPTURED**

 _What?_

The woman blinked, thinking she had read it wrong.

She was out of luck, because the words stared back at her in large, bold lettering.

Fire Fist Ace had been captured.

And a new power had risen from it.

 _Blackbeard… no, Marshall D. Teach…_ The paper scrunched up within the woman's clenched fists. _That rat…_

A recent memory came to mind: A vision of man fading into nothingness, an ominous, round silhouette and the shadow of a knife.

 _So that's what it was…_ She thought. _A premonition of betrayal._

She scanned the remainder of the article carefully, hanging onto every word lest she missed anything. The article itself was curiously, not as long as she would expect from the capture of a pirate of Fire Fist's calibre, but she supposed that was typical of the government.

The government likely did not want the public to know that it hadn't been the marines who had detained the infamous pirate, but the newly appointed Shichibukai. True, there had been no mention of exactly whom had captured Fire Fist but seeing as news of his capture came out at the same time the appointment had, she would have to be blind if she did not understand the hidden message.

The woman flipped to the next page. Besides the headline news, the paper also had updates on the Enies Lobby Incident which made the headlines days ago. Her lips quirked lightly as she read about how Vice-Admiral Garp had 'valiantly' pursued his grandson, Monkey D. 'Straw Hat' Luffy only for the pirate and his crew to escape through 'unorthodox' means.

 _Interesting story._ She thought and closed the paper. The remaining articles weren't as important, and she could get to them later. Now, she had more pressing concerns that demanded her attention.

The bird had settled down next to her when she started reading, and the woman now turned towards it. Knowing what its mistress wanted, the bird lifted its wings to reveal a pouch strapped to its side that was part of a harness. She put the rolled-up paper in and gently patted the bird on the head, eliciting a happy trill from it as she climbed onto its back, settling into the fur-lined saddle.

Feeling the familiar pat from its mistress that meant she was securely seated on its back, the bird spread its wings. One strong flap later, the bird shot out of the forest into the gloomy sky, looping several times before levelling itself and transitioning into a smooth flight.

The woman laughed from her seat, amused at the bird's little show.

Reaching under her cloak, she withdrew a sleeping snail from the confines of her pocket. A white snail was attached to it to prevent any interceptions.

Dialling a set of numbers, the woman waited patiently for the other end to be picked up.

"Are you going?" The question left her as soon as a familiar voice greeted her through the transponder. The person at the receiving end laughed, replying that she already knew the answer.

"I won't make it by ship though." They said.

The woman smirked.

"I'll pick you up."

* * *

 **A month later, the day of the execution.**

The clinking of chains reverberated loudly through the dark passageway of the dungeons. Too loud, in fact. Despite the presence of the guards who lined both sides of the passage, the dungeons were eerily silent.

Hands shackled behind him, a man glanced up at the long stairway that loomed before him, eventually disappearing into darkness.

 _That's a long way up…_ He thought, dark locks falling in his face and effectively shielding the steely, silver orbs that blankly observed the path ahead.

"Climb." A chain rattled as his escorts urged him to keep walking. He complied without resistance. There was no point to it; as he was now, he was a dead man walking.

Slowly but surely, he ascended the stairs, putting one foot in front of the other. His gaze did not fall, instead, it looked straight at the darkness before him.

He wasn't afraid of the dark, never was, yet the shadows that encompassed the stairs stirred up a feeling of dread deep inside him. However, he wouldn't lower his head to it.

 _167… 168… 169…_

For every step he took, the feeling inside him grew. Outwardly, he retained an impassive expression, but inside he was churning with turmoil. He had known since long ago that he would emphatically end this way; what better way to discourage any potential law-breaker than to execute the progeny of the evillest man who ever lived? He had never deserved to live anyway. If it weren't for him, his mother –a beautiful, strong, kind woman—would still be alive. He had stolen her life away from her, and now fate was taking it back.

Yet, in the short twenty years that he had lived, he had been told otherwise by so many others.

Luffy and Sabo were the first ever to do so. Ever since the first time they met, the younger raven had never held any ill will towards him. Despite his hostile attitude and many murder attempts, Luffy had said he wanted him to live. Sabo had been his first friend, his best friend and brother. The blonde had never cared that his father was Gol D. Roger and saw him for who he was. He would never tell anyone, but the actions of Luffy and Sabo, and the words that Luffy spoke that night was always kept close to his heart, keeping the darkness at bay. The warm feelings he always got when thinking of his brothers turned to worry as he remembered what Boa Hancock had told him. Luffy was in Impel Down. His chest tightened at the thought of his little brother in that hell hole. _Stupid brother!_ He thought. _Doesn't he know what kind of place that is!_

… _okay, screw that thought._ If he knew Luffy, and he did, his little brother couldn't care less if it was a pit leading straight to the underworld. He'd jump right in without a second thought.

He sighed inaudibly. Hopefully, Luffy would find a way out of that place. He might not escape without injury, but he'd be intact and in one piece, at the very least. Hopefully.

His thoughts drifted to the people he'd spent the last three years with and felt an unfamiliar twinge in his chest. After today, he would be lost to them forever. He wondered, if things had happened differently, where would he be now?

 _Probably not walking to my execution._

He didn't regret his decisions, however. If he could go back in time, he would make the same decisions, all over again.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as the creaking of hinges alerted him to his surroundings. He had reached the top of the stairs, and the door that stood between him and his impending fate was being slowly opened.

Seconds later, he felt the familiar caress of the ocean wind as it swept through his unkempt hair and the warmth of the afternoon sun seeping through his skin.

From where he stood, he could see the sprawling village below the bridge that led to a raised platform; that was where his execution would take place, he realized. Beyond that, he could see the mass of white uniforms that were assembled tightly in what he supposed was the harbour, and further out, the sparkling blue water of the bay.

It was, with no doubt, a sight to see.

His lips quirked in slight amusement. At least, his last view of the world would be a nice one.

His escorts led him down the bridge and up a short flight of stairs to the platform, securing his chains to the boards as soon as his knees hit the wood at the front. Some of the marines glanced up at him, appearing to be curious about the man that had incurred this large-scale execution. He pretended not to notice the stares, grey eyes fixed on the ocean.

He was soon joined by none other than the Fleet Admiral, Sengoku who requested a transponder snail that was handed over immediately. He wondered where that shitty geezer was, if he wasn't up here on the scaffold.

"I have something to tell you all…" Sengoku started, his voice resonating through the transponder system. "Portgas D. Ace. It's about the great significance of his death today."

 _This is it_.

"Ace, tell them the name of your father."

Grey eyes flicked to his side, eyeing the larger man with the slightest hint of contempt.

Did the fleet admiral really think he'd just **admit** the truth about his blood? He scoffed in his mind.

"My father is Whitebeard." He finally said, just loud enough to be heard over the deafening silence that had fallen at the mention of his father.

"NO!" Sengoku denied loudly, unamused by his show of defiance, and he responded in kind, stating firmly that his only father was the man that took him in.

Sengoku launched into a tirade, retelling the events of twenty years ago, laying his past bare for the world to see. And at last, he showed the last card and revealed the identity of his blood father.

Gol D. Roger. The Pirate King.

He gritted his teeth at the revelation, the truth was out now, and there was nothing he could do.

* * *

"So… how long are you going to leave him up there?"

Somewhere on Marineford, two cloaked figures chatted idly as they watched the Marine Fleet Admiral easily disclose a secret that had been kept safe from the world for twenty years.

From their vantage point, they had a clear view of the soon-to-be battlefield. An advantageous position which unfortunately, came at the price of not being able to see the expressions of the one that was sentenced to execution. They did, however, have a full view of his back and subsequently, his crew's prided tattoo. Rich, dark purple ink mapped out the entirety of the design, forming a mark that was marred by his time in prison.

"Until his crew comes to get him, obviously." The second figure replied, arms crossed beneath their cloak.

"And when will that be?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"Don't know…maybe because you always seem to know everything?"

"You and I both know that's not true."

"So…?"

"Probably sometime in the next half-hour."

"See? You do know."

"Shut up."

"Yes Ma'am."

They watched as silence fell at the revelation of Portgas D. Ace's bloodline. One of the figures moved to crouch down on the building's parapet, while the other turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" The former asked, noticing their companion's receding presence.

A flash of metal was seen underneath the figure's cloak, and realization dawned immediately on the other.

"I'll be back soon. Feel free to join the party when they start."

"Roger. Have fun!"

Turning back to watch the execution, the figure on the parapet sighed, head resting in the crook of his palm.

"And~ she's gone. Now all that's left is for the Whitebeards to show up. Great. More waiting."

…

Tension on the island was high and rising as time ticked by without so much as a splash. Neither the Whitebeards nor their allies were anywhere to be seen, and the marines were getting antsy.

Sengoku had just gone through their goal to execute the late Pirate King's son despite the risks it involved when one of his subordinates reported the unexpected opening of The Gates of Justice.

 _Just what is going on now?_ Sengoku thought, sending a cursory glance towards the direction of the gates.

His question was promptly answered, when a lookout sounded the alarm. A fleet of ships could be seen on the horizon, fast-approaching the island. Forty-three ships, to be exact. Although none of them bore the mark of the Yonko, there was no doubt who those ships belonged to.

They were all allies of the Whitebeard Pirates. And if they were here, the Whitebeards themselves could not be too far away. The only question remaining was where exactly they were.

The marines scanned the horizon, hoping to find some indication as to where the strongest man in the world would appear from. They had no such luck. Everything remained stationary except the fleet that was quickly closing in on them.

The atmosphere shifted. Arms were raised, and weapons drawn.

Along with the sudden change in the air, Sengoku's alarms were sent into overdrive, the cogs in his mind turning to figure out what had cause that sense of foreboding to occur. Whitebeard had something planned, that much the Fleet Admiral was certain.

The Yonko did not disappoint.

 _Of course._ Sengoku realized as he watched four identical ships pop up from the bay, water sliding off the bubble-like membrane before it burst, revealing the pirates that crowded the decks. _They coated their ships and travelled underwater. That's how they got in. Why didn't I think of that?_

He cursed himself for not considering every possibility, allowing Whitebeard to take advantage of it and invade Marine Headquarters. It had been an oversight on his part, forgetting the existence of the special resins that pirates utilized to cross under the Red Line and which the marines had never had a use for.

As the water in the bay settled after being abruptly disrupted, several prominent figures of the famed crew were identified before a distinct clanking sound was heard.

The marines waited as a large, elderly man came up to the bow of the ship directly facing them.

"It's been a long while, Sengoku." The Yonko greeted, a sharp edge to his grin.

"Whitebeard." The Fleet Admiral returned grudgingly.

"You better tell me my beloved son is all right."

…

"Now _that_ I didn't see coming." The remaining cloaked figure whistled appreciatively at the Whitebeard Pirate's impressive entrance. "Ace sure followed one crazy old man."

He looked around, noting his surroundings, and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm...where to go now? Maybe I'll go around? But the plaza is crawling with marines…Aha!" He spied an area near the edge of the village that was both elevated and hidden. A great hiding spot, except he had to pass by one of the watchtowers.

He contemplated it for a moment before deciding to throw caution to the wind.

 _Whatever. It's not like they'd see me anyway._

* * *

The corridors of Marine Headquarters were eerily quiet despite it only being the middle of the day, all the officers and recruits outside participating in the impending war, leaving only the non-military personnel in the building.

Opposite a window where sunlight streamed in from, a cloaked figure stood in front of the notice board, intently studying what appeared to be floor plans.

 _So right now, I'm over here._ A finger ghosted over the paper. _And over here are the offices…_

Apparently satisfied with their findings, the figure left the notice board, which was noticeably missing a few papers.

They noiselessly sauntered down the hallways, humming a soft tune as they tossed a small, metal sphere up and down absentmindedly. They never spared a glance at it yet caught the sphere without fail every time.

The figure didn't even bother to conceal their presence in the building, openly walking without a care that someone might see them. Admittedly, there wasn't a need for that, since the only people in the building weren't part of the military, therefore reducing the chances of them being recognized. Even if someone did see them and managed to put a name to their face, they could be easily dealt with.

Alas, any one who would've recognized them were all on the battlefield outside.

On the way, the figure stopped in front of a closed door and peeked in, finding a storeroom that nobody seemed to use. At least, not on a regular basis, judging from all the dust.

 _Perfect._

The metal sphere in their hands was thrown into the room, its trajectory calculated so it rolled right into a corner, only stopping when it bumped into a shelf.

 _One down, eleven to go._

Continuing down the corridor, the figure pulled out an identical metal sphere and resumed their previous actions.

The figure soon came to the highest floor in the building, where the offices of the highest-ranking officers were located and headed straight for the door that had 'Fleet Admiral – Sengoku' written on its plaque.

The door itself was huge -but then again, so was most of the building—though the figure pushed it open with ease. It really should say something about how lax their security was if even the Fleet Admiral's office door was left unlocked. Apparently, the thought that someone would sneak in while the marines were occupied outside never crossed their minds.

Oh well, at least it made things a lot more convenient.

The office was large, sparsely furnished with a desk and chair along with a couch and coffee table. Several shelves lined the far wall, holding rows worth of folders. Opposite that was a large window that opened to a direct view of the plaza, and from there the figure watched as one of the Admirals, Aokiji froze a tsunami as it came down on the island along the surrounding ocean, effectively trapping the pirates.

Also, there was a goat –of all things—sleeping in the corner of the office, a half-chewed piece of paper sticking out of its mouth.

The figure was suddenly and immensely glad that they rarely travelled by ship. It would have been a huge hassle to free a ship from the frozen water.

From the window, the figure had a hawk-eye view of the war that was slowly descending into chaos. Kizaru had launched an attack at Whitebeard which had been blocked by his first commander, and now the two were fighting in mid-air in a bright tangle of yellow and blue. Below them, pirates and marines charged each other, and the air reverberated with the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Tearing their gaze from the carnage outside, they moved to the office table and started looking through the drawers, only pausing to pick the locks. When they didn't find what they wanted at the desk, they moved to the shelves and looked through the files, flipping through the recorded information as quickly as possible. It took some time, but they finally found the information they wanted.

Returning the office to its previous state sans a file or two, the figure left the office.

Outside, they could hear the loud voice of the giant captain Little Oars Jr. as he broke through the front lines.

It was time to go.

* * *

Luffy was convinced that Lady Luck hated him. And no, he wasn't exaggerating.

Because she definitely had it in for him when everything bad came together and happened _**at the goddamn same time**_.

First off, Ace got captured. Then his crew were separated by that bear-guy-with beams and he got sent to that island with lots of women. And then he found out that his brother was about to be executed.

Being the good little brother he is, Luffy had decided to postpone meeting up with his crew in favour of rescuing his older brother. With help from Hancock, he had snuck into Impel Down, which was apparently the most secure prison in the world. A fact that Luffy found questionable – he'd gotten in, hadn't he? Not to mention he had found Buggy running around Level 1 _**without**_ cuffs.

Things went smoothly for a while; he'd ran into Mr. Three and Bon-chan on Level 3 and Level 4 and had almost gotten to the next level when things went south for them. Luffy didn't remember much of what happened after the fight with Magellan; he had been poisoned to near death, or so he was told. When he finally reached Level 6 together with Iva-chan and his friends, he just had to have missed Ace.

Luffy shrugged it off easily. It was a small setback, but he would catch up to his brother.

Escaping had taken longer than he would've liked, even with Jinbe and Crocodile's help, but Luffy supposed it couldn't be helped, especially when that chess-teethed bastard showed up. Despite the many obstacles in their way, Luffy and the horde of prisoners eventually made it out and immediately set sail on a stolen warship, riding the Tarai current towards Marineford.

The prisoners and Luffy reached Marineford some time after the war had begun. They had been nearing it when some genius decided to cause a freaking tsunami which promptly turned to ice -a feat Luffy was sure belonged to Aokiji— and placed their ship a couple hundred feet above the ground.

And the next thing he knew, everyone was free falling, courtesy of gravity (and a certain idiot, who for once, was not him) towards a large pool of seawater in a supposedly iced over bay. They went down screaming their heads off and drew the attention of every person in the vicinity.

Just before they hit the ground, Luffy instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was lying on the now destroyed ship (it had fallen with them) gulping for air.

Sitting up, he looked around, watching the battles as they raged on.

 _Where's Ace?_ He wondered, trying to find his brother.

Scrabbling to his feet, he made his way up the ship that was tilting dangerously on one side, breaking through the barrage of marines that came at him. A grandiose building that had MARINE engraved on its walls came into sight as he reached the tip of the ship and he stared at it for a moment, processing his current surroundings.

A cannon ball flew, exploding in the water in front of him and blocking him with a curtain of blue.

Luffy's gaze travelled down as the water subsided, dark eyes finally meeting with silver ones.

Suddenly, it was as if the haze of the war had lifted and everything came into focus once again.

He grinned. _Found you._

"ACE!"

He barely had time to be rejoiced.

That stupid sand croc had gone and attacked that giant ossan with the really cool moustache.

Without hesitation, he activated Gear Second and went after the logia user, kicking him out of the way just as he was coming down on the giant man. His former enemy hadn't been very happy, accusingly asking him why he was getting in his way when he had fulfilled his promise of helping him escape Impel Down.

Luffy didn't really have a reason to do so. However, the giant ossan was Ace's captain, and that was reason enough for him to step in. Ace liked him, and he did not hesitate to make that fact known.

Of course, Ace's captain or not, Luffy didn't care as he angrily retorted when the Yonko had shouted that he would die if he tried to enter the war.

Fearless idiot that he was, the younger captain all but challenged Whitebeard for the title of king, receiving an amused comment on his attitude and a warning to stay out of the way from the older man. The Yonko was then alerted to the marines change of plans before the Straw Hat captain took off onto the battlefield, his sights focused on Ace and only Ace.

Everything happened so fast it was almost a blur in his mind. But somehow, it still managed to register.

He remembered everything; the admiral from Sabaody attacking him; the bear-guys-with-beams; two weird marines who looked vaguely familiar; the pink haired captain from Alabasta; the stupid shadow thief leek guy from that zombie island and Ace's captain getting stabbed by some guy. And Coby, the first friend Luffy had made on the sea who bravely stood up to him.

Despite his brother telling him to leave; telling him he did not need his "weak" little brother to save him, he pushed on. And then that seagull ossan told everyone who his dad was.

Big deal. He didn't care anyway. So what if he and Ace weren't related by blood? They were still brothers and that was all that mattered.

To Luffy, his top priority now was getting to his brother. He wouldn't stop, not even if it meant death.

It wasn't easy however.

Many powerful individuals stood in his way, all with different motives. Thankfully, reinforcement was present in the form of Ace's crew.

Breathing heavily, he pushed forward.

He needed to get to Ace.

After almost dying several times, Luffy finally advanced the final stretch of distance that separated the brothers.

He had come so far and wasn't going to let anyone else delay him any longer. No matter what stood in his way, not even if it happened to be their Grandpa.

Luffy glared at his grandfather who stood on the path Inazuma had created, preventing him from reaching Ace. He wanted to punch his way through, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt his Grandpa.

His confliction showed, but Garp stood his ground, though it pained him greatly to do so.

"Luffy, I consider you...my enemy!" Their fists met, and Garp fell to the ground below.

 _I'm sorry I let you down... please, Luffy, save your brother._

 _Save Ace._

* * *

 _Crap._

Darting across the ice, a cloaked figure cursed as the marines' Encircling Wall went up, cutting off the frozen bay from the rest of the island.

 _Why did I think it was good idea to come down here again?_ Because how the fuck was he supposed to get back up there now?!

Changing course for the nearest section of the wall, the figure stopped short of it and slammed the base of his weapon –a long, metal pipe, in this case—into the smooth surface.

The resounding clang told him all he needed to know.

 _Great. It's completely solid. Damn marines just have to make our lives harder every day._

He sighed, wishing that his companion was here with him instead of loitering somewhere inside Marine Headquarters. If it were her, he had no doubt such a thing as an 'Encircling Wall' wouldn't even faze her. Knowing her, she would only view it as a mild hindrance. Or possibly not even a hindrance.

 _What was that she said earlier?_ He thought, an odd comment from his companion before she left coming to mind as he tried to figure out how to get past the wall. _'If anything comes up, just go ahead and break them.'?_

He eyed the wall dubiously. _Well… something certainly came up, in both sense of the phrase, but she couldn't have meant this?_

He pondered it for a moment, ultimately deciding that it couldn't hurt to try.

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measure. Sorry wall." He muttered under his breath and slid his weapon back underneath his cloak.

Putting his hands to the wall, he started rapping on it. Several pirates nearby were drawn by the sound and were surprised to see a stranger knocking on the wall that was preventing them from reaching their target.

"That guy over there! What do you think you're doing!" One of them shouted at him.

Ignoring them, he continued until he found what he was looking for.

A black sheen covered his bare hands, and his hands, balled into fists, embedded themselves into the thick slab.

" **Dragon Claw Fist…"**

Cracks spiderwebbed from the point of impact.

 _Well, whaddya know._

" **Dragon Breath."**

Air rushed through the cracks, and the wall cracked completely, leaving only the area around the point of impact intact.

"I swear I'm never doubting her again… wait, have I said that before?"

Pulling his hands from the rubble, he gave them a light pat.

"Sorry. But you had to go." He grinned, not at all apologetic despite his words.

At that point, everyone's attention had been drawn to the cloaked figure that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The pirates openly gaped at him while the marines froze in horror; even Whitebeard with his Gura-gura no mi hadn't been able to break the wall, yet this person who seemingly appeared out of nowhere had broken it with ease. Noticing the amount of attention on him, he shot a glare at the nearest pirates.

"Well what are you people standing around for? A written invitation?" He snapped, mildly annoyed at their distraction from their primary objective.

As the outlaws registered the fact that someone had broken through the wall and created an opening other than the one which was blocked by Little Oars Jr., their faces lit up and they charged through the rubble with renewed vigour, some clapping him on the shoulder in a show of thanks as they rushed by.

Honestly, he didn't need that. He thought as he rubbed his shoulders, where some of the pirates had forgotten their strength and clapped a little too hard.

He had almost followed them, but the feeling of several pairs of eyes burning into his back spurred him to turn and meet them, only he avoided making any contact with the admirals and instead met yellow with blue across the battlefield.

The old captain stared blankly at the cloaked man who had aided them, his unwavering gaze almost unnerving.

He was about to break eye contact and continue his merry way when Whitebeard broke into a grin, accompanied with a nod of appreciation. Tipping his head in reminiscent of a bow in return, he decided to change course again, heading towards the Yonko instead of following the pirates like he had planned to.

He was highly aware of the horrified stares the marines sent his way as he expertly weaved his way through hordes of pirates, though he ignored them entirely.

He was nearing the Moby Dick when a huge stream of water cut him off.

 _What the…?_

His question was answered in the form of a dripping wet Luffy who stood defiantly in front of the three admirals, a broken mast wrapped under one arm which was promptly frozen by Aokiji.

The Straw Hat captain didn't hesitate to attack them, his Gatling attack sending the mast flying at the admirals in frozen shards.

 _That idiot! Is he suicidal?!_ He freaked from his spot in the middle of the battlefield. He was so very tempted to just go in and maybe knock some sense into that non-existent brain of his, but a small voice at the back of his mind told him that was a bad idea.

Taking a deep breath, he continued his way. The Straw Hat captain could take care of himself; even if he couldn't, well there's Emporio Ivankov behind him and Sea Knight Jinbe. Between the two of them, the young pirate captain would be fine. Probably.

He arrived at the base of the large ship a moment later, just in time as a sudden pressure descended on the battlefield accompanied with a loud "STOP!".

Haoshoku haki.

Within his field of vision, marines and pirates fell to the ground in a large circle around the Straw Hat pirate, unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Though there seemed to be more marines than pirates.

He heard Whitebeard's signature laugh and pushed away the worry for such an ability being disclosed to the marines, deftly scaled the ship, landing lightly atop the whale figurehead.

The Whitebeard Pirates, under their captain's direct orders had reformed ranks behind the rookie pirate, providing him the backup he needed to keep moving forward without hindrance.

He looked up at Whitebeard as he came up beside him, his hood shadowing the mask he wore as he voiced a question to the elderly captain. Beside him, the captain of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates, Squard was staring at the newcomer in surprise, the remnants of tears still visible on his pale skin.

"You don't plan to leave this place alive, do you?" It wasn't really a question, though it sounded like one.

"Who are you, brat?" The older man retorted, his gaze fixed on the war. His torso was bloodied from the wound where Squard had previously stabbed him.

The cloaked man shrugged. "Just an ally."

Yellow eyes averted themselves, and he heard the captain snort.

"I'm a relic of the sea, brat. I've lived long enough."

"That may be so, but I have orders. _Very_ explicit orders." He replied, allowing just a hint of trepidation to seep into his voice, knowing the giant man would easily sense it.

"Oh?"

"I'm not allowed to let you die here."

Whitebeard scoffed at his apparent insolence.

"And what makes you think you can prevent that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps the threat on my life if I actually let you die in such a worthless place?"

"…cheeky brat."

"I aim to please."

* * *

 _He was free._

Running with all his might, Ace couldn't help the one thought that kept flashing through his mind nor the elated whoop as he felt his fire coursing through his veins again after being subdued for too long.

 _He was_ _ **free**_.

And it was all thanks to Luffy.

Glancing at his little brother running next to him out of the corner of his eye, Ace felt his heart swell with pride. It had only been a few months since they had run into each other in Alabasta, yet his little brother had grown so much.

The Luffy he had met then would have been K. O'ed the second he set foot in this place, but not only had his little brother brought utter chaos to the war, he'd also successfully set Ace free. Granted, his crewmates had helped a lot by keeping the stronger marines off Luffy's back, but still, his little brother had undeniably spearheaded the later half of the battle.

Ace couldn't keep the grin off his face as he fell back into old fighting styles that only worked with his brother, the both matching each other step for step as they ploughed through the enemy ranks without so much as a glance at the other.

He could almost smell his freedom.

Just a little more, and he'd be home free.

And then shit happened, because someone up there must really hate him. (It wouldn't be far-fetched; most of the world hated him anyway.)

Whitebeard –their captain, their Oyaji—had ordered the crew and their allies to retreat to the New World without him.

The Yonko would stay to finish what they had started while his sons escaped back to the open sea.

Ace almost cried out at the order, because how could their captain say that? How could he say that now, now that Ace was free and on his way back to them?

Did his father come to save him, intending to make Marineford his grave?

A sharp pain clenched his heart, and Ace felt his eyes grow wet with tears that were threatening to fall.

Akainu, that annoying, self-centred magma jerk had expectedly chased after them, all the while spewing his nonsense about Absolute Justice and later, insulting Whitebeard for telling his crew and allies to fall back.

Ace felt his blood boil at the slandering. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and give the Admiral a piece of his mind, but the more rational part of his mind repeatedly reminded him that that was a very, very, very bad idea.

The last straw was finally broken when Akainu decided to call Whitebeard a 'coward'. And bad idea or not, that was something Ace wasn't going to take lying down.

Whitebeard was many things, but a 'coward' was in no way, one of those things.

The fire-logia stopped running and turned around to confront the Admiral, wholly unaware that he'd taken the older man's bait.

"Don't make fun of the man who saved my life!" He yelled, readying himself for an attack. He ignored the frantic shouts of Luffy and his crewmates behind him, his temper getting the better of him and clouding his judgement.

"The name of this era… is WHITEBEARD!" Ace thrust his fist forward, unleashing the attack he'd gained his moniker from.

Magma and fire clashed.

He was overwhelmed.

Subconsciously, he registered Jinbe yelling at Luffy as he stumbled. Pushing himself to his knees, Ace glared at Akainu, though the man didn't seem to be looking at him.

Instead, the Admiral appeared to be looking at something else, something off to his right…

Ace's eyes widened in horror as he realised where that manic look was being directed towards.

 _ **Luffy!**_

Akainu charged before Ace could blink, his magma covered fist pulled back, ready to put a hole through Dragon's son.

The attack came down swift and hard unto the unknowing teenager.

Instinctively, Ace moved to shield his little brother even though he knew he wouldn't make it. Fatigue and hunger was catching up to him, overpowering the adrenaline rush that was already dying down with ease.

 _I won't make it!_ Ace felt his heart drop as he rushed forward. Everything seemed to have slowed down, and he watched in horror as the shadow of death descended on Luffy.

 _NONONONONONONONO!_

A black blur shot past him towards his little brother, scooping up the bewildered teenager at the very last second.

Silver flashed as the figure nimbly jumped out of the way, and a cry of pain permeated the air.

Blood spilled, dyeing the ice a vivid crimson.


	2. Chapter 2

_Edited 6.1.19_

* * *

 _Drip._

Marineford fell silent, the sound of blood dripping onto the ice faintly echoing through the stagnant air.

"Don't you **_dare_** touch them, Admiral."

Sound returned, the veil of silence broken by a cold, biting voice which sent chills down even the strongest men's spine.

In front of a dumbfounded Ace, a figure cloaked in black stood defensively, twin daggers held at the ready. One of the daggers was streaked with red, crimson rivers running along the edge of the blade before falling to the ground below.

Hunched over the ice, Akainu gripped his left arm which had been severed from the elbow down, glaring at the figure with the intensity of a thousand volcanoes.

"Who are you, woman." He snarled.

The figure –woman—flicked her wrist sharply, ridding the blade in her right hand of any remaining blood. The daggers were nothing special, just a regular pair that could be found in any decent weapon's shop, but in her hands with the light of the afternoon sun reflecting off them, they seemed a lot more ominous.

Blood splattered onto the frozen ground and the marines spread out along the perimeter flinched as the droplets hit the ice, the crimson stains proof of the shocking twist of events before them.

"I see no reason to answer you." The woman bit back vitriolically and straightened, allowing the Admiral to glimpse the black mask that covered the bottom half of her face to her neck. A distinct mark stitched with blue thread decorated the mask below her right eye. If it hadn't been for their proximity, the mark would have been easily overlooked due to its dark colour.

Akainu had seen the mark, and with the slight widening of his eyes, had also recognized it.

"You!" Fleetingly, the Admiral was surprised, but it immediately devolved into unadulterated hostility and rage. "What is an assassin from Noite doing here, Black Queen Rainha?"

His revelation surprised many. Noite was a name well-known on the seas – It was an organization founded and headed by Carin -a master assassin and a powerful figure not unlike Whitebeard, Gol D. Roger and others from their era—which made its name through assassination and mercenary work.

And amongst the many assassins and mercenaries that had gathered under its mark, Black Queen Rainha was one of the more prominent members and rumoured to be one of the higher-ranking members.

"That is none of your concern." She replied, somehow managing to sound harsh and polite at the same time. Then, she turned a bit to look at the young pirate behind her while keeping her focus trained on the marine in front of her. " ** _GO_**." She hissed.

Ace didn't argue and quickly scrambled to his feet, throwing a wary look in Akainu's direction before running towards the other cloaked person who had saved Luffy earlier.

With Ace out of harm's way, Rainha's attention returned to the marine Admiral who was now glowering at her. Obviously, the man hadn't appreciated her intervention which had cost him one of his arms and foiled his murder attempt on both Roger and Dragon's children, though she couldn't care less.

Lucky for Akainu, his devil fruit had cauterized the wound, so he was in no danger of losing too much blood, yet it did not stop the sheen of cold sweat that had broken out across his skin.

Dark eyes filled with hate bore into her. "Does Noite intend to side with pirates?" He spat out, as if just saying the words themselves disgusted him. Clearly, he was teetering on the brink of irrationality already if he had asked that question, when Noite had long ago made itself clear that it remained neutral in the war between pirates and marines. Although, she supposed, her actions today would have hinted otherwise.

"Again, none of your concern." She replied.

In her peripheral vision, Rainha could see her companion had been joined by Ace and several others, including Jinbe, Ivankov and Inazuma. There were others that she didn't recognize but were most likely Ivankov's followers, if their choice of clothing were any indication. The little ragtag group appeared to be conversing about something or another, but there was a time and place for everything, and right now, they should be running. Running fast **_and_** hard!

In the privacy of her mind, Rainha couldn't help but sigh. _What are those idiots doing…?_

"Don't get in my way." Akainu growled, his wounded arm morphing into magma that dripped onto the ice and sizzled. "Their evil bloodlines must be purged!"

The assassin's senses spiked, and she moved on instinct, leaping out of the way of a sizzling glob of molten rock. Taking advantage of her minute distraction, Akainu charged towards Ace and Luffy.

 _Oh no you don't._ She reacted instantly, jumping in front of the admiral again, a dagger brought up to block the attack. The admiral clicked his tongue in annoyance, and struck again, only to be matched each time by Rainha.

Behind her, the assassin heard her companion urging his group into motion, finally remembering their current predicament. However, they were too close, and she didn't think she would be able to hold Akainu back long enough for them to get away.

Well, she probably could if she used her powers, but she didn't want to throw that card away just yet.

If she timed it right…

Akainu attacked again, and this time, instead of pushing back, Rainha used the force behind the blow to propel herself backwards, landing just a few feet away from the group of pirates and okamas.

Not one to waste time, she whipped out a small, silver whistle from under her cloak and blew on it. The whistle's sharp tune echoed on the battlefield, doubled only by the shrill cry of a huge white bird that swooped out of nowhere and landed beside the assassin.

"Boys. Ship. Now." She instructed, and the bird trilled in reply, taking flight again before swooping down in a steep arc to grab the second cloaked person with the two D. brothers and Jinbe in tow.

"So, Noite intends to stand against the marines, is that it?" Akainu growled as he threw an attack at the retreating forms in the sky, which was blocked again by Rainha, who cut down his attacks with surprising ease. His next attack, his directed at the assassin who hindered him continuously. "That means I will have to get rid of you too."

Rainha scoffed. "I'd like to see you try."

Akainu had a manic glint in his eyes as he brought down his magma-covered fist on her. She made no move to dodge the attack.

"Watch out!" All around, pirates cried out in warning while the marines watched horrified as one of their leaders made to **_murder_** the assassin.

They waited with bated breath for the attack to make contact.

It never did.

No one saw how she moved, or if she even did.

All they saw was that one moment, Akainu was about to kill her, and the next, he had disappeared and there was a resounding splash from somewhere that couldn't be named.

"Oh my, looks like he went for a swim." The assassin commented offhandedly. "And I would halt where I am if I were you, Admirals."

On the other side of the frozen bay, Aokiji and Kizaru simultaneously stopped in their tracks as a cold pressure pressed against their throat.

Her arms were raised, two blades held in a position that left no doubt that the pressure they were feeling were from that pair of daggers.

"Wise choice."

Pirates and marines alike broke out in cold sweat as they watched the exchange in horror. How had the assassin managed to not only hold off two marine admirals at the same time, but also put the third and strongest one out of the fight?! The Admirals hadn't gained their positions by being pretty; they possessed strength that far surpassed most others, and only a handful of people could match them – people who made monsters seem like a joke.

It was an unthinkable feat, yet she had pulled it off.

And there was the fact that both admirals weren't even resisting for some unknown reason.

…

"What are you doing here, Rainha?" Aokiji asked as he shifted, stuffing his hands down his front pockets. His posture seemed relaxed, but he was still wary of the blade that was pressing down ever so slightly. From far away, the daggers hadn't seemed like much; he had had his suspicions when Rainha amputated Akainu's left forearm, but being in direct contact with it, Aokiji knew that it wasn't just Haki that had been responsible for it.

It sapped him of his powers, weakening him, but not quite rendering him incapacitated.

Those daggers were seastone weapons.

"Surprising you should ask." Rainha spoke after a small moment of silence. "You should know better than anyone, Admiral Aokiji."

* * *

"Captain! Marineford is in sight!"

"That so? Get ready then."

"Aye!"

Aboard a large ship with a dragon figurehead, a red-haired man looked up from where he was seated, dark eyes glinting under the daylight. He rose to his feet shortly after, moving to stand at the prow of the ship, his right hand coming to rest on his sword's hilt.

Luffy… Ace…

* * *

Luffy had absolutely no idea what was going on.

If memory served him right, at this moment he was supposed to be dead. Or on the brink of it, at least.

Because for all his bullheadedness, Luffy knew there was no way he would have survived the blow that he'd seen at the last second.

So why was he now looking up at a masked man while being carried in said man's arms, completely unharmed save for what he'd accumulated previously?

"Are you okay?" The man asked, his voice somewhat muffled by the mask he wore. Luffy dumbly nodded. He was fine… probably. "You have no idea, do you?"

Luffy shook his head.

"I figured as much." The man mumbled. He sighed, and adjusted Luffy so that they were in a more comfortable position. "And why is **_he_** still sitting there?"

The man sounded annoyed.

From his position, Luffy could see what was happening on the battlefield if he just craned his neck a bit...and his eyes naturally zeroed in on the figure that was making their way towards the two of them.

"Ace!" He yelled, but it came out only a little above a whisper.

Suddenly, Luffy became a lot more aware of the state of his body; his was extremely tired, barely able to feel himself, and his eyelids felt heavier every passing second. Maybe he could sneak a few seconds of shut-eye… but Ace was here, and he was being carried by someone he didn't know… wait, what?

His eyes, just one step away from closing completely, snapped open instantly. At the same time, it drew the attention of the man carrying him away from Ace.

"Is something wrong—" He stated, abruptly cut off by an unexpectedly wary Luffy.

"Who are you?" The Straw Hat captain asked in a low voice. Had his crew been present, they'd have recognized the tone their captain used as one that he generally reserved for kicking ass. Unfortunately, they weren't, though the man seemed to get the undertone of his question well enough.

In response, the man snorted. "I'm a government agent sent to kill you."

His answer easily caught Luffy off guard. Although, to be fair, he wasn't the only one.

Ace and Jinbe, who had both entered hearing distance were equally surprised to the extent that the fire-logia had very nearly lost his footing on the ice which had almost caused the fishman to collide with him.

"Really?" Luffy asked, eyes blown wide.

"Ya think?"

All three looked at him with similar 'Are you being serious' expressions. Luffy blinked, and promptly replied that he didn't believe the man.

"I was being sarcastic." He said to no one. "Now come on, we need to get out of here—"

At that precise moment, a large man with an even larger purple afro came running, followed by a man who looked like a half-done paint job. Behind them, several others were running to keep up with the two ahead.

"Straw Hat boy!"

"Iva-san?" Luffy heard the man mutter, sounding surprised.

Does this guy know Iva-chan? He wondered.

Before he had a chance to ask, his attention was stolen by the Okama Queen who was yelling at him for his recklessness.

"Vyou're too reckless! Vyou're just like vyour father!" Ivankov scolded. Apparently, Dragon was just as reckless as his son, though he was smarter about it. The Okama Queen would have continued his berating if it weren't for a sudden action that jarred them back to reality; they'd been too relieved that they had forgotten they were on a battlefield during a war.

Akainu had lunged towards them to get to the D. brothers but was repeatedly obstructed by the Black Queen.

"We have to go NOW!" The masked man sounded more frantic than before, and Luffy could tell he was so close to yelling in frustration because of all the dilly-dallying.

Their little group had started to run when the assassin landed next to them. A sharp sound emanated from a small silver whistle in Rainha's hand, followed by a shrill bird cry.

Luffy didn't catch what the assassin had said, but he did hear the curse that spewed from the masked man's mouth.

"Shit." Was all the man could say before a pair of talons dug into his shoulders. "Guys, hold on tight. And whatever you do, DON'T SCREAM."

Ace tried to protest but Jinbe grabbed him and latched onto the man. Ivankov tried to grab ahold of him too, but before he could…

The feeling of air rushing by filled their senses.

Ace screamed. Luffy would too, but he was too tired.

The man would've face palmed had he not have his hands full with Luffy.

"I just said…oh never mind."

* * *

Hundreds of eyes followed the bird's flight path, watching as it gracefully descended next to the Whitebeard captain and dropped its passengers into a heaping pile a couple foot from the ground –except for Jinbe, who managed to land on his feet—before landing next to them.

No one would mention it, but more than a few had jumped when the large bird landed on the ice. They had known the bird would be large, but no one had imagined it to be almost as big as one of the slightly larger than average commanders – the eighth and fourteenth division commanders, for example.

The cloaked man, who was at the top of the pile groaned and carelessly rolled down onto the ground.

"Damn it, Oru…" He cursed as he sat up and rubbed his shoulders, all the while glaring daggers at the bird. The material near the shoulders were torn, hints of blue showing through the tears, and even those seemed ready to break apart at the slightest movement.

"This was my favourite coat!"

The bird didn't respond, its sharp eyes trained solely on its mistress in the middle of the battlefield.

The man who was aware as well that the bird –Oru—wasn't paying attention to him, redirected his focus to the two pirates who were still plastered to the ground and sighed.

Despite the dire situation, the Whitebeard Pirates could not help gawking at the situation before them. When they came to war, they had expected to welcome Ace back in all his fiery glory. They had not expected their brother to come back to them by way of bird, clinging onto some stranger for dear life in the air and thrown on the ground in a pile.

They had **not** expected the sudden splash that came from behind them, nor how their brother's saviour had somehow managed to deter Aokiji and Kizaru either.

The two Admirals had been in hot pursuit of the two 'demon children' and one unexpected ally, both men racing across the ice to reach their targets before they reached their allies.

The effort, however was proven futile when the Black Queen stopped them without even moving from her position.

Even from the other side of the bay, her voice resonated with clarity. There was a comment about someone going for a swim –which was likely the source of that splash—before she addressed the admirals. "And I would halt where I am if I were you, Admirals." She said coolly.

Both her arms were raised, ready to strike. As one, Aokiji and Kizaru stopped in their tracks and sent wary looks towards the assassin.

The Whitebeard Pirate's twelfth division commander, a young man dressed in a green shirt coupled with white pants by name of Haruta, was whistling in awe. "How does she do that?" He muttered, a look of wonder crossing his features.

"She's awesome." A few others voiced their agreements.

Someone nudged the commander teasingly. "You really like her, don't you?"

Haruta laughed sheepishly at the comment. It was well known amongst the crew that he was a big fan of the Black Queen. The assassin's name appeared every now and then in the papers, generally accompanied with news of an assassination somewhere. Otherwise, there was very little information on her. So far, all the newspapers had gotten was a picture of her mark, a customized version of Noite's own symbol.

However, if one had the right connections, they'd find that the assassin was most often involved with the destruction of slave markets and trader ships anywhere and everywhere.

That had been what had piqued the commander's interest in the first place, and after a few questions along the grapevine, he'd decided that Black Queen Rainha was awesome and worthy enough to earn a place on his personal pedestal.

It was a pity they had never met the assassin herself. For some reason or another, the members of Noite seemed to avoid any contact with the Whitebeard Pirates, though they didn't know if the same could be said for the other Yonko. Some had joked once that the assassins took their position of neutrality way too seriously.

"Oi! You guys aren't much better, y'know!" Haruta retorted when some of the crew started calling him 'fanboy'. "Besides, how many people do you think could pull that off?" He pointed at the scene which had captured most everyone's attention.

"Not many." A geisha-like man interrupted, pistols grasped tightly in both hands. "However, we should perhaps hold off this discussion for a later time, preferably when we're NOT AT WAR."

While the pirates had been distracted, they hadn't missed the exchange between Aokiji and Rainha for all that it didn't make sense to anyone.

The same couldn't be said for the masked man who was nudging the D. brothers with his foot.

"Don't tell me they passed out…" They heard him mutter to himself.

The Whitebeard's first division commander – Marco, crouched down next to the heap of brothers, poking at the tangle of limbs that were supposed to be their second division commander and his rookie brother.

"Oi Ace, Straw Hat, are you two still with us yoi?"

Marco's incessant poking successfully roused the two, and a muffled voice was heard that sounded distinctly like swearing – the overly colourful kind that could only have come from one fire-logia.

"Looks like you are," The blond man said, standing up. "Come on, you two. We have to get going."

The Whitebeard Pirates, who had been amid retreating before they were side-tracked, resumed their progress. The wounded were helped aboard the Moby Dick, while the rest brought up the rear, taking as many of their fallen comrades as they could.

The commanders stood on guard, senses focused in case of an ambush –however unlikely—as they watched the confrontation between the admirals and the assassin from Noite.

Weary eyes glanced towards the two raven haired pirates who were disentangling themselves from each other with a little help from Jinbe who was hovering nearby before one cursed and shakily stood up. The other was gathered into the arms of the large fishman, his eyes closed and seemingly dead to the world.

"Ace." Whitebeard spoke, calling out to his youngest son. "Are you alright?" The worry was evident in the old captain's voice. Shaking his head a few times to clear it, Ace looked up to meet his captain's eyes. Their previous conversation flashed through his mind, and he shrugged. The gesture apparently translated to something akin to "I'm fine" and Whitebeard felt his heart lighten a little.

His son looked worse for wear, but all things considered, it could've been a lot worse. He returned his attention to the battlefield, his resolution hardened.

"Marco!" He called, and the blond commander immediately turned to look at his captain. The large man grinned dangerously, his grip on his bisento tightening. "Take care of our family. And that brat over there—" The cloaked man looked up at him. "—look out for my children."

The pirates were all staring at their captain, eyes brimming with tears whereas some were openly sobbing. They were aware of the possibility that their captain would not return from this battle, but most didn't want to believe in it. Their captain…no, their father was the strongest man in the world; surely, he would be strong enough to get out of this together with them.

But he was saying goodbye.

With both his earlier declaration and his order to Marco, Whitebeard had solidified the fact that he wouldn't be returning with his crew. Today would be the last they saw of that huge figure that gave them a home and a family once they left the waters of Marineford.

They would never again hear that booming laugh of their father nor bask in the warmth of his smile as he watched over his children. They would watch and be able to do nothing as he took a stand and protected them one last time.

The Whitebeard Pirates felt like their very souls were being torn out – how else could they describe that gut-wrenching pain that wrecked them at the thought of losing their father? The tightening of their chests that made it feel impossible to breathe?

What would become of them, without their captain?

…

"I refuse."

A smooth voice cut through the anguish that had overcame the pirates, and all eyes turned onto the only unknown amongst them, who was smoothing out invisible creases in his cloak like he hadn't just refused a request from Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate.

"Like you said, they are ** _your_** children. I do not see why I should look out for them when it isn't my responsibility whatsoever."

He lifted his head, the mask completely hiding him from the Yonko's hard glare. He didn't even flinch, whereas many others would've fainted from the sheer intensity emitting from Whitebeard.

"Also, as I believe I have told you earlier, I have a mission."

"Brat…" Whitebeard grunted, obviously exasperated. The Whitebeards watched the exchange curiously, feeling like they were missing a most crucial piece of the puzzle, because honestly, no one could make heads or tails of what the two were talking about.

"And I have absolutely no intention of failing because the result would be very painful for me," He paused, and added. "And your crew and allies probably."

"Things happen, brat. You can't fight the unexpected."

" ** _Wrong._** " The man moved to stand by Oru. "Things will happen, that's for sure. Just not the way **_you_** planned. Besides, Rainha's already out there stalling the admirals so you can escape –even Sengoku is busy with Garp—so there's really not much standing between you and open sea."

The man's voice lowered suddenly, danger lacing his words. "I suggest you take this opportunity and get out **_now_**. The Admirals will not be held off for long."

"How long do we have yoi?" Marco asked, brows furrowed in concern.

"Five minutes, give or take."

Fuck.

…

"EVERYONE MOVE, NOW!"

* * *

The war was locked in a stalemate.

On one hand, the marines wanted to pursue the Pirate King's son and his adopted brother. ON the other, there was nothing they could do against the might of the Whitebeard Pirates when their top fighters were all otherwise occupied.

Not to mention Garp was making things hard for Sengoku, to the point that the Fleet Admiral had to put most of his attention on the marine hero to prevent him from wreaking havoc on their own territory against one of their own, wherever the man maybe now.

Unexpectedly –or perhaps not so unexpected since it was Garp—the vice-admiral hadn't taken kindly to Akainu trying to kill his grandsons and almost succeeding. Currently, he was throwing out death threats directed towards the magma-logia like a fountain spewed water.

"Sengoku! Let me go! I'm going to rip that upstart Sakazuki a new one and more! How dare he try to kill my brats!"

Looking down resignedly at his long-time friend whom he was sitting on, Sengoku couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

 _Curse Garp and his damn family of felons. Forget headaches, I'll be lucky if I don't come out of this with something even more severe._

"Your grandsons are safe, you idiot. Stop yelling  
and see for yourself."

"How am I supposed to 'see for myself' with your  
huge-ass sitting on me!"

 _Fair point,_ he thought, and moved off him.

Garp got up, and looked towards Akainu…well, where he thought Akainu was supposed to be. "Where's that idiot?"

Sengoku sighed again and gestured towards the bay. "Somewhere near the ocean. Black Queen did something –what, I'm not sure—and sent him into the water." He explained and pointed out the black-clad woman on the ice.

Garp's eyes widened when he saw the assassin, and a weird glint crept into them which did not go unnoticed by Sengoku. The Fleet Admiral raised a brow at the _walking headache_ suspiciously.

"You wouldn't happen to know why Black Queen Rainha decided to save Fire Fist and Straw Hat, would you?" Call it intuition, or paranoia, whichever, but Sengoku had a gut feeling that Garp knew what was going on. Unfortunately, the answer he received was one that he fully expected.

"Nope!" The vice-admiral laughed, his anger gone without a trace.

"We both know that's a lie." Sengoku drawled dryly.

"So what?"

"…nothing."

Garp laughed again.

"You're enjoying this too much, Garp." _I really hate him sometimes._

* * *

All eyes were on the Black Queen and the Admirals.

With Akainu temporarily out of the picture, Aokiji and Kizaru had taken a neutral approach to the situation. Granted, they still had a dagger to the throat each, but it's wasn't really a big deal. That could get out of their predicament easily if they wanted to, and they knew that Rainha was well aware of that fact.

Be that as it may, the assassin had piqued their interest, and both men decided that it wouldn't hurt to find out the motives behind her actions.

Whatever answer they had been expecting, they surely had not foreseen what Rainha had said.

Aokiji held her gaze for a long pause. He couldn't see her eyes with the hood on, but he could certainly feel the steely gaze trained on him.

"I suppose I do." The ice-logia admitted, his expression giving nothing away. "But this and that are two separate matters entirely."

"They're only as different as you want them to be." The assassin countered. "In the end, their nature is the same."

"And your reason for intervening?"

"I imagine it's similar to yours back then." Rainha responded. "If things come down to what I think it may, where will you stand?"

"…that's a tough question."

"Isn't it?"

Aokiji shrugged.

"Wherever justice is, I'd think."

Rainha was silent for a moment, appearing to mull over his words, and then he felt the pressure on his throat disappear. A quick glance at Kizaru told him that the other admiral had also been freed of the assassin's seastone weapons.

"You are letting us go, just like that?" Aokiji was dubious about her actions, wondering what she had hidden up her metaphoric sleeve.

"Would you rather I slit your throat?" Rainha replied with her own question, followed up by a baffling answer. "You won't be here for long, though the same can't be said for your two colleagues."

If Aokiji had a slight inkling of what the assassin had meant, he wasn't sharing. Kizaru, however, seemed to catch on, one brow raising lazily.

At that moment, Rainha jumped backwards unexpectedly, sliding a little on the ice as a wide crack appeared where she had been previously standing.

Marines shouted in shock as they noticed a huge, humanoid shadow behind their headquarters. Slowly, the shadow came to light as the mist around the buildings cleared.

"Ah, they saw me." The shadow said. Another marine shouted, drawing attention to the fallen scaffold where eight figures stood amidst the settling dust.

Tension escalated to greater heights as the figures were identified.

"How did you get here?" Sengoku growled. Besides the original four, the Blackbeard Pirates had gained a few new members, and the marine fleet admiral was none too happy when he recognised them. They were all criminals whose existences had been erased from the records due to their extreme villainy—prisoners of Impel Down's sixth level.

"The Giant Battleship, Sanjuan Wolf!"

"The Corrupt King, Avalo Pizarro!"

"The Great Drinker Vasco Shot!"

"The Crescent Moon Hunter, Catarina Devon!"

"And the head jailer of Impel Down, Shiliew of the Rain!"

At the head of the unsavoury group was Blackbeard himself, laughing as he greeted his former captain.

"Teach." Whitebeard answered, his voice low and dangerous. Anyone who knew about what had gone down between the two captains instinctively shied away from Whitebeard who was literally radiating danger. The pirate crews were in a similar state, bristling with anger at the traitor, of which the Whitebeard crew's killing intents were strongest.

"Blackbeard." Rainha hissed as she held her daggers up.

The man whom that name belonged to turned towards the assassin, and his grin grew even wider, showcasing dirty yellow teeth that appeared to have never seen a toothbrush.

They would think they had imagined it later, but as of now, the marines closest to the assassin would've sworn that the woman had gone 'Eww.' at that display.

"Ah…Black Queen Rainha…did you receive my proposal?"

"I did." Rainha shifted, moving into a battle-ready stance.

The large pirate laughed. "And your answer?"

"I fed it to fire." She replied and drew out a rifle from somewhere underneath her cloak. "Paper makes for excellent kindling."

In simpler words, she refused.

Without much aiming, she cocked the rifle and sent a bullet his way, only for it to be intercepted by another bullet.

"Impressive, as always." The assassin commented dryly. "I see you haven't gone rusty, Van Augur."

"Rainha." The marksman lowered his rifle and adjusted his monocle, his tone just as flat.

Shiliew, who was standing next to him, asked, a cigar hanging between his lips. "Someone you know?"

"A former colleague." Augur replied.

"Former indeed." She countered and pulled the trigger again. "I assume you are aware of your status."

The bullet was once again, destroyed by another.

"Zehahahaha! Rainha, as I thought, you should join me! Your skills are truly befitting of the future Pirate King!" Blackbeard offered once again, though he never got an answer this time as a large ship with a dragon figurehead appeared through the mist, attracting everyone's attention.

Large sails bore a skull with three red lines going across its left eye and two swords crossed behind it. Above the crow's nest, a black flag with the same symbol fluttered in the wind.

"So, you've come…" Blackbeard grinned maliciously, an evil glint surfacing in his eyes.

Men lined the railing of the ship, yet the one key figure was nowhere in sight.

"It's the Red-Haired Pirates!"

"Why is another of the Yonko from the New World here?!"

A slapping sound resounded across the battlefield, oddly loud despite the noise that had arisen due to the crew's sudden appearance.

A red-haired man came into sight as the marines made way for him, subconsciously shying away from his overwhelming aura.

"I'm here to end this war." His hand rested on the hilt of the sword hanging by his side, an unspoken announcement of his willingness to draw it. "If anyone still wants to fight, then come!"

His eyes flashed dangerously.

"We will be your opponents."

Red Haired Shanks declared as his men flanked him, each standing tall and proud as they stared down the marines and dared them to fight.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.

Beta'd by Anime Foxx & BlackFoxoftheMoon

Edited: 8.1.19

* * *

"What do you think, Teach – no, Blackbeard." Shanks addressed the newest warlord with barely concealed anger.

Their gazes met across the battlefield, and the emperor's eyes darkened at what he glimpsed in the other.

"You look more handsome than ever, Red Hair." Blackbeard sniggered. "Those scars suit you."

"No thanks to you." Shanks knew exactly which scars the warlord was referring to. Really, anyone who had been around long enough knew about them; there had been many rumours floating around the pirate grapevine about the story behind the scars, though the only ones who knew what truly happened was himself, his crew, a select few of Whitebeard's crew and the man who gave them to him.

The mentioned scars twitched as he recalled how they had come to be.

Behind him, he heard a gun clicking, and knew that Yasopp had his rifle held at the ready, aiming warningly at Blackbeard.

"Oi, oi. This is a little unfair now, isn't it?" Blackbeard remarked, gesturing to both Rainha and Yasopp. "There's two of you against only one of mine."

Shanks glanced at the assassin, and though he couldn't see it, he knew she was looking at him too.

"I'll take it from here, if you don't mind." It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement, and the red-haired emperor was relieved when Rainha nodded and withdrew her gun.

Briefly, he wondered what had gone down between the assassin and the Blackbeard's sniper; it was clear to everyone watching that they had some bad history, if her attitude was anything to go by.

"This will not happen again, Van Augur." The Black Queen warned, and promptly disappeared.

Shanks smirked, sensing her presence at the edge of the plaza next to Whitebeard. He was sure that exit had been done on purpose, and the gasps of shock from the marines all around were nothing if not satisfying.

 _That's not Soru._ The red-haired emperor noted, and pushed it aside for the moment.

"Well now, since Old man Newgate is busy, I'll do him a favour and deal with you."

* * *

The Whitebeards were just about to cast off when Blackbeard made his appearance, and the atmosphere amongst them and their allies immediately took a darker turn.

It was expected, as the latest participant in the war had once been part of the Whitebeard crew. Despite wearing a mask, the cloaked man pulled his hood lower and watched the intense hostility radiating off the pirates around him. Whitebeard himself was releasing a large amount of haki that had many of the marines closer to the them passed out on the ice.

"That son of a bitch…" Ace growled. In response to his emotions, his fire flared up around him, bathing the surrounding area in a dangerous, orange light.

"Calm down, Portgas," the man said, his voice low. "He's not your fight."

Every pirate in the vicinity turned, looking at him incredulously as if he'd said something incomprehensible. Which, in hindsight, probably was considering the history between them and Blackbeard. The man realised his slip up as soon as the words left him.

Ace was there in an instant, hands gripping the neck of his cloak and face in his, glaring at him with a feral intensity that would scare off a lesser man. "You want to say that to my face?" He snarled.

Not him though.

"Before you attempt to strangle me, perhaps you should take a look at your surroundings first." the masked man reached up, easily prying off the second division commander's fingers. "I know you and your crew want revenge on that guy –and you have every right to, considering what he did—but right now, your priority should be escaping. Blackbeard will not let himself be captured here, and neither should you."

He swung his arm out in a wide arc at the sight before them. "Approximately three hours of war have created this. Seeing all this…this _**destruction**_ —" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Will you still continue to fight?"

The effects of his words were plainly visible; they resembled a bucket of icy water, instantly dousing the fire of revenge that had been raging only seconds ago, and the man knew he'd hit close to home. _Possibly too close, even._ He thought, glimpsing a watery shine in the eyes of the pirates.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little guilty about reminding them of the friends and family they had lost, but it was a necessary evil. They may not like it, but he was right, and the pirates knew that.

No one spoke; not him, not the pirates.

In the end, it was Jinbe who broke the silence.

"He's right." The fishman warlord agreed. "As of now, we should be escaping. This man and the Black Queen have created a chance to escape yet we are still here, wasting the precious time they have bought us." Jinbe sighed, dark eyes flickering down to the teen in his arms. "We should be tending to the wounded."

The warlord turned, climbing up the gangplank that led to the Moby Dick.

He watched as Jinbe disappeared onto the ship with Luffy and turned his attention back to Rainha. He'd gotten his message across; the rest were up to the pirates themselves.

…

Whitebeard surveyed his children as he suppressed his Haki, lost for words for once.

Like all his children, he wanted to tear that traitor apart, but the cloaked man's words rang in his mind, watering down his anger to let rationality take the reins again. The ire was still there, simmering in the back of his mind, but with more at stake, he wouldn't act on it now.

There was only one ironclad rule on his ship, and that was to never hurt family.

If some brave soul dared to breach that rule, they would face retribution from the entirety of the crew, allies included.

The old emperor's eyes met the blue of his first mate's, a silent message for them to leave. Nodding bitterly, Marco looked away to urge the crew's retreat. Most of the pirates were already aboard –their allies were already out on open seas, waiting for them—and the only ones left were the commanders. Eventually, they too boarded their ship, leaving only Ace who still stood next to Whitebeard. The cloaked man stood some ways away, next to the large bird that had carried them over.

"Oyaji…" Ace began, his head low. It was evident in his posture that he was reluctant to leave, even though Captain's Orders were absolute.

Whitebeard sighed inwardly. He had known since Ace first joined, that this knuckleheaded son of his would be hit the hardest should he ever have to leave them. While he didn't favour any children over the others, it was no secret that he had a soft spot for his youngest. Ace was very young, just barely out of his teens, and -though the kid himself denied it—sometimes cute in the eyes of his sworn family, despite the occasional complaints.

"Ace," He said, reaching down to gently ruffle his hair. "You should go now."

"But—"

"I've lived long enough. If I will die, it will be in battle. This place," the emperor looked around him. "Will be my grave."

Ace didn't say anything, knowing the tone in his captain's voice. Suddenly, he veered around and shouted at the cloaked man: "Hey, I thought you had a mission!"

The man turned towards them, his mask eerily white beneath the dark hood. "I do, but there is nothing I can do if _**he**_ will not be convinced." He grounded out reluctantly. Whitebeard had a feeling that the brat wasn't very pleased with him, but he would never change his mind.

"You're not even trying!" Ace protested.

Before he could say anymore, Whitebeard stopped him.

"Go," He said softly, nudging his son towards his beloved ship. "And send that Red Hair brat some sake for me."

Ace looked up at him, dark eyes unblinking. Then he bowed towards his captain.

 _Thank you._

He turned and ran onto the ship, the gangplank immediately withdrawn by some other crewmember. The other three 'Moby's had already cast out, leaving only the flagship still docked.

Whitebeard cracked a large grin as he watched his sons go, following their brothers and allies. These children were his pride and joy, and damn if he would let any more harm come to them.

Although the emperor himself had decided to stay, he hadn't accounted for one other who had decided otherwise.

A presence suddenly appeared, alerting him to the assassin who had appeared out of nowhere. Subconsciously, he took a step back.

Whitebeard did not even have a chance to speak before everything shifted and he was suddenly seeing everything from an elevated height. Feeling a familiar rocking sensation, he looked around and found himself back on the Moby Dick with his sons staring slack-jawed at him.

"O-oyaji?!"

Groaning out loud, he turned to the prow, spotting the assassin, her companion and her bird standing at the edge of the ice, a small stretch of ocean between them.

Granted, he couldn't see their faces, so he couldn't tell what they –or rather, _**she**_ —intended to do, but if the way that gutsy brat next to Rainha was waving was any indication…

"Bye!" The man yelled, a little too cheerful for the atmosphere around them.

Then, the ship started speeding up.

There was no wind, yet the sails were full.

Beneath the waves, he sensed several presences. "It's the Sun Pirates!" Someone yelled.

Distance quickly grew between the pirates and Marineford; the marines stationed outside were already taken out by their ally crews, so the Whitebeards made it through to open water effortlessly.

Looking back at the island, Whitebeard zeroed in on the two small figures in black, their dark wear standing out sharply from the bleakness of the ice.

He snorted. "Cheeky brats." He didn't know if he was amused or annoyed, probably both.

Not a moment later…

"You're welcome!" The cloaked man yelled back, his voice carrying over the ocean, and bringing a grin to Whitebeard's lips.

* * *

"Iva-san." Somewhere in the bay, a certain man in white and orange lightly shook the glass in his hand, letting the deep red liquid within to sway with his motions.

"Yes?"

"Straw Hat is already united with his brother."

"That vhe is."

"And they have already left with the Whitebeards."

"That's right."

"Shouldn't we be getting off the island?" He asked and took a sip from his glass. "We wouldn't want to get caught again."

"Vyou're right." The large man with a purple afro next to him scratched his chin thoughtfully. Seconds later, he cried out loud, scaring most everyone around him.

"Candies~! Vwe're getting off this island! To the ships!"

"Yes! Iva-sama!"

"Hee Haw!"

Inazuma trailed behind, watching as his leader and comrades terrorized the marines and hijacked a battleship, and took another sip.

It felt good to be free.

* * *

Aboard the Moby Dick, Ace slumped down against the railings, legs pulled up close and his head buried in his arms. No one bothered him, even though they were busy retreating and as the second division commander, he was supposed to be helping. But his ship-brothers knew better than that, and Ace was immensely grateful for it.

Images flashed through his mind. They were memories of his time with the Whitebeard Pirates, most of them of Whitebeard himself, and Ace couldn't help the smile that grew at the remembrance. Especially of the days when he had been a 'guest' on the Moby Dick. (Which reminded him, he'd never actually apologised for being such an ass back then…)

Then the ship lurched without warning. Ace had no idea what was happening, but he did know that his head hurt. He groaned, pulling himself out of the stack of crates he'd crashed into.

"O-oyaji?!"

A familiar voice groaned loudly, and Ace was greeted with the sight of his captain's, who had his back towards them. A loud goodbye could be heard, before he felt the Moby Dick start picking up speed. In the back of his mind, he registered someone mentioning the Sun Pirates, but Ace's attention was all focused on Whitebeard.

The emperor was looking at Marineford and snorted at something Ace couldn't see along with a comment about cheeky brats.

"You're welcome!" Someone yelled, but it sounded far away, and his father broke into a grin.

Stunned, Ace didn't return to his senses until they were out on the sea and well away from Marineford.

"Oyaji, weren't you—" Next to him, Rakuyo sputtered, eyes darting between their captain and Marineford, which was shrinking by the second. "We thought—"

Whitebeard let loose a rumbling chuckle, jolting Ace from his stupor.

"I was," Their father grinned. "But apparently, the Black Queen had other ideas."

Marco, ever the logician, asked. "How'd you get on the ship though?"

Their captain laughed. "I have no idea."

The entire crew fell silent as the implication washed over them.

 _She saved Oyaji…and me and Luffy…_ Ace thought, having mixed feelings about the entire matter.

He heard Marco sigh loudly and knew the first division commander was running his hand through his hair, like he always did when he was exasperated. "We really owe them yoi."

"That we do, son, that we do." Whitebeard replied. "Are you okay, Ace?"

Ace snapped up at the sudden address and nodded mutely. Compared to many of his crewmates, he was doing a lot better. He was only hungry and tired, while some of them had received wounds of varying degrees, and some…

The raven-head shook the thoughts away, not wanting to go there now. He'd have time later to deal with his emotions and the deep-seated guilt that threatened to swallow him, but now he would put up a front, so his father wouldn't worry.

"What about your brother?"

 _Luffy…?_ Ace suddenly remembered. Where the hell was his brother? He'd seen Jinbe bring him up, but the warlord was nowhere in sight.

 _Damn it! How could I have forgotten about Luffy!_ Frantically scanning the deck, silver eyes quickly located the blue fishman who was just emerging from below deck.

"Jinbe!" He rushed over, nearly tripping and crashing into his friend. "Where's Luffy?!"

He felt more than saw Jinbe reach out to steady him before gesturing to the door behind him. "He's safe, Ace-kun. I put him in the infirmary." Jinbe assured.

 _Right. Of course._ With a quick 'thanks' over his shoulder, the fire logia immediately disappeared into the bowel of the Moby Dick.

Ace followed a route that had over the past two years became familiar to him and reached the ship's infirmary within minutes, slipping in through the open door.

The infirmary, which was usually so spacious, was jampacked with crewmembers – both injured and uninjured. The injured were being treated by the doctors according to severity, while some others were filling in for the nurses, who were nowhere to be seen.

All in all, with the amount of people in the room, it was practically impossible to spot his little imp of a brother.

One of the doctors, Brolnis noticed his predicament and helpfully pointed him to one of the small, adjoining rooms generally reserved for severe cases. He made his way over quickly and found Huan, another doctor dressing the many wounds that littered the rubber captain's body with the help of a crewmate.

"Luffy!" Ace rushed in, stopping short of the bed. He knew too well the temperaments of their crew doctors, who absolutely _**hated**_ it when someone interrupted their work, and right now wasn't exactly the best moment to incur their wrath.

"A-ace…" Hearing his voice, Luffy's eyes fluttered open and shifted to him. "Are you okay?" He asked weakly.

"You idiot, I should be asking you that." Ace replied, moving to the side of the bed. "Don't scare me like that, stupid little brother."

Luffy tried to laugh, but only managed a rasp. "I'm not the one who got caught." He retorted.

The room fell silent. Huan had already finished his work and left to help the others, giving the brothers some privacy. Ace sat down on the bed, careful not to accidently jostle his brother.

"Ace…I'm sleepy…" Luffy mumbled, stifling a yawn.

He was barely conscious now, and Ace reached out to gently ruffle his hair. His brother was obviously exhausted, and it was demanding to be allowed the rest it deserved through heavy eyelids. The older brother felt the other lean into his touch and smile softly.

They both needed the physical contact to assure themselves that neither would be going anywhere anytime soon. The clash with Akainu earlier had been a very close call.

One too close for comfort.

"Don't leave…." Luffy yawned again.

"I'm not going anywhere, Luffy."

"…pr'mise?"

"Promise."

"O'ay…"

Finally succumbing to his body, Luffy closed his eyes, breathing evenly as he immediately fell unconscious, oblivious to Ace's half-exasperated chuckle.

"…you're such a troublesome little brother, you know that?" _But I wouldn't have it any other way._

His heart finally settled in his chest.

Propped up against the headboard, Ace soon fell asleep alongside Luffy.

As he slipped into the warm embrace of sleep, an image of the assassin who had saved him and Luffy flashed by in his mind.

 _She feels kind of familiar… the other guy too..._

* * *

"Fuffuffuffuf…now isn't this interesting? Who would've thought, eh?"

"Black Queen Rainha, 880 million Beri bounty."

"Oh, thank goodness!"

"The assassin's guild, Noite, huh…"

…

Amidst the chaos, four figures stood idly beside the remains of the scaffold, surveying the last of the battle playing out down below.

On the leftmost side of the scaffolding, a dark-haired woman sighed in relief before turning down blue eyes in disdain. Flicking her long hair over her shoulders, she lightly caressed her pet snake who was coiled around her protectively.

"I'm leaving." She stated coldly and stepped onto her snake.

A blond man chuckled just as the snake moved. "Leaving so soon, Hancock? The fun has just begun."

The woman glared at him. "I only agreed to fight Whitebeard, not Red Hair or Black Beard. And who gave you permission to speak my name, you insolent man!"

"I did, of course."

"I will be leaving as well. I only agreed to fight Whitebeard and not the other two. All things aside, this war has been a lost cause since Fire Fist and Whitebeard have both escaped."

"Aww, you too, Hawky?"

Between the two, a dark-haired man with piercing eyes reminiscent of a hawk glowered icily at the blonde.

"My name is not Hawky, Doflamingo." Adjusting his hat, Mihawk left for the far side of the island, where his coffin-shaped one-man ship was docked in a small port. Doflamingo attempted to return with a snarky reply, but Mihawk was walking away, and Hancock was already gone.

The blonde chuckled, looking to his other side where the last Shichibukai, Bartholomew Kuma, stood, stiff as a rock.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Kuma. Those two are missing out."

Kuma never answered him.

* * *

Rainha scanned the remains of the war that had just ended and sighed.

After Whitebeard had escaped, Blackbeard and his crew left as well, the man seemingly disappointed about something, but Rainha had paid him no attention.

As soon as he'd gone, Sengoku had ordered a ceasefire at the behest of Shanks.

Now, the marines were picking through the debris, retrieving their fallen comrades while the Red Hair Pirates recovered the bodies of any pirate unfortune to be left behind during the Whitebeard's hasty departure.

It was a solemn sight, and her companion too shifted in slight discomfort.

"Uncomfortable?" She looked at him, arms crossed.

"Not really," Her companion replied, his tone a bit amused. "Just a bit…overwhelmed, you could say. It's kind of ironic, considering what I do."

She rolled her eyes, and promptly dug her elbow into his middle with a harsh jab, eliciting a pained yelp that was frankly quite satisfying.

"What was that for?" He complained, though he kept the volume to a minimum to not give away their location.

"You were being stupid."

"What? WHY?!"

"Come on, there's something I need to do."

"I thought you were already done?" The man whined as he followed her.

"I left a few 'gifts' for the marines. I have to make sure they receive it, no?"

"Are you serious? You're actually going to do it?"

"Yes, and yes. Now let's go. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"So are you."

"…you're not denying it?"

"No. Now shut up."

* * *

For a day stained with bloodshed and filled with memories best left forgotten, the sky that night was surprisingly clear.

The moon was out, white and full with no clouds to hide it. It casted a soft light onto the Moby Dick, creating a calming image that soothed. Even the sea was quiet, waves lapping softly against the hull, as if she thought that they deserved a break after the day's events.

Silently stepping out onto the small balcony at the stern where the commander's quarters were located, Marco leaned against the railings and gazed down at the sea foam that trailed behind the Moby Dick in its wake. They had decided against stopping for the night; it would be better if they got as far away from Marineford as possible. No one could sleep anyway, so they'd kept sailing under the moon.

This was second-hand knowledge relayed to him by someone else, though. Marco himself had been in the infirmary the entire day and had only emerged when things had settled down some to take a breather.

 _So many gone…_ He thought sadly, remembering all those men he had seen cut down by the marines. _It may be a victory for us, but it certainly doesn't feel like one._

He watched the waves, silently grieving for the brothers he had lost. Having been on the sea for over two decades, the Phoenix was no stranger to death, but today was the first time he'd experience the loss of so many, and all within the span of a few hours.

So many lives, _**gone**_ , just like that.

And they had almost lost Whitebeard.

Marco drew in a shaky breath as he remembered his captain's request to take care of their family.

 _I never want to hear those words again._

He didn't want to, but deep inside, Marco knew he would, sooner or later. It was inevitable. Whitebeard wasn't getting any younger, and his health was deteriorating along with his age. Even though he hated it, the first division commander knew this the best.

Today had only made it worse.

Looking up at the full moon, Marco wondered what they would do now. Yes, they had 'won' the war and had gotten Ace back, but at the same time, the crew's power was heavily diminished, and it would be some time before they would return to their peak.

Furthermore, Teach was still out there.

There was no doubt that the man would come after again, though there was no saying when. It was obvious that the traitor had come to Marineford for a reason, and they would have confronted him had it not been for that man pulling them back to their senses. If that had happened, Marco was scared to imagine what the outcome would've been.

A long sigh escaped the blond commander as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Stressed?" A voice sounded behind him.

Lost in his thoughts, Marco had failed to notice the sound of geta clacking on the floorboards growing closer and was startled when someone spoke to him.

"Izo? I thought you were in your room yoi." He asked, remembering seeing the other commander go into his room earlier.

"I was only changing." Izo replied, now clad in a plain kimono and his long hair gathered loosely at the nape. His usual make-up was gone as well. "Being caked with dust and grime isn't a very pleasant feeling."

Marco chuckled, before pulling a face at his own clothes. "Now that you mention it, I'm pretty filthy." He clicked his tongue, picking at a dark spot on his sleeve. He didn't know what it was, but it probably wasn't going to come off.

"You are."

Deciding he would change later, the first commander turned back to the ocean and Izo followed suit, leaning his arms on the railing.

"How's Oyaji?" The sixteenth division commander asked, dark eyes fixed on the horizon.

"He's doing fine…well, as fine as could be for someone his age."

Long, slender fingers started drumming on the sanded wood. "He'll recover, won't he?"

"Eventually." Another sigh. "But…"

Izo glanced at Marco out of the corner of his eyes. "…You know Oyaji wouldn't want us to worry like this."

"He's sleeping. He can't tell me not to worry yoi."

"I can."

Marco glared at his brother from under hooded eyes, a silent question in his eyes and Izo yielded after a minute.

"Fine, I won't," he admitted. "but only because I'd be a hypocrite if I did."

The blonde turned back to the view, this time leaning further out to find the silhouettes of their other ships that were sailing close by. There was also another ship a small distance away that belonged to the Sun Pirates.

Both fell silent, until Izo decided to break it. "Well, enough with the depressing topics; let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" Marco drawled.

"The Black Queen?" The dark-haired commander suggested.

"What about her?" The other turned so that his back was against the railings, his usual bored expression set firmly in place. "I know as much about her as the next person. You'd be better off asking Haruta yoi."

"True, but Haruta's on the Moby Three now and I'm here."

"And?"

"If you want the truth, I have nothing to do now and her recent actions have admittedly made me rather curious." Izo smiled wryly and looked up at the sky. "I don't think someone like her would do what she did today without reason, though I am thankful that she did."

Marco shrugged. "Things would probably have been a lot worse if she and that guy hadn't showed up."

"Very true." Izo agreed. "I do wonder why, however. They don't really stand to gain anything by aiding us; as a matter of fact, there _**is**_ nothing to gain."

"Except a favour to us yoi."

The sixteenth commander looked over inquiringly, causing the blonde to sigh and lace his fingers together over his middle.

"You do remember who the leader of Noite is?"

Izo nodded.

"And you also remember that that man is in the same group of legends as Oyaji, Roger and Garp?"

"Your point being?"

"My point," Marco grinned lopsidedly. "is that those legends have a sole, common trait, that being that they are all as whimsical as humanely possible yoi."

Izo deadpanned. "So, you're saying that she did that just to get into our good graces."

"That or she's just as capricious. Frankly, I wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet." The first commander stood up and stretched. A few 'pop's sounded as bones cracked, a testament to just how stiff he had been. "Besides, Ace probably knows something."

"Doesn't he always?" Izo snorted, reminded of the countless surprises the fire-logia had given them since he joined the crew two, almost three years ago."

"Exactly." Marco paused, trying to recall if he'd seen the fire-logia after leaving Marineford, only to find that he couldn't remember seeing the younger anywhere. "Speaking of Ace, where is he yoi? I haven't seen him at all and he wasn't on deck when I came up earlier."

"Where do you think?" Izo rolled his eyes. "He's in the infirmary, holed up next to his little brother's bed."

"Right." Because _**of course**_ he'd be there.

Marco vaguely remembered seeing the name Monkey D. Luffy when he'd sifted through the medical records earlier but hadn't paid it much thought.

"Straw Hat is direly exhausted. He won't wake up for a week, at least." The first division commander mentioned, recalling the few lines written in the young captain's records.

"Mmhm." Izo nodded. "And that's why our dear little brother has brought a pillow and blanket and claimed the floor next to his little brother as his temporary bed."

"Come again?" Marco asked sceptically, wondering if he'd heard right. While he had expected Ace to do just that –because it's Ace—he hadn't expected to hear that he'd brought a blanket.

Since when did Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace, second division commander and pyromaniac-extraordinaire ever need a blanket? The man himself was a walking furnace that was literally immune to temperature. Granted, he did have blankets, but the twenty-year-old rarely used them.

Many could testify to this; occasionally, when he overslept, and someone was sent to get him, they'd step into the room to find one Portgas D. Ace on his bed (or in some cases, on the floor) with his pillow under his head while the blanket was on the other side of the room. It had also ended up on top of the closet once, apparently. No one knew exactly how it got up there, not even Ace.

"Ace brought his pillow and blanket and set up camp next to his brother's bed. And no, I'm not pulling your leg. Namur ran into him on his way up." Izo schooled his expression into one of genuine confusion and mimed carrying bundles under his arms. "'Of course I'm bringing a blanket. Luffy wouldn't be happy if he saw me sleeping without one regardless of whether I'm cold or not,'" He put his arms down and smiled wryly. "Or so he said. Talk about a serious case of brother complex."

Marco chuckled, sounding lighter than he'd ever been today.

"I'm going back to the infirmary yoi. I've been out here a while." The first division commander motioned towards the door. "Are you coming?"

Izo shook his head. "I'm gonna stay a little longer to let my hair dry. Then I'm going up on deck to find a drink." He glanced at his brother teasingly. "Should we save some for you?"

"Yes please." Marco replied instantly. "For once, Oyaji can't steal our drinks, so might as well."

"Should I tell everyone you gave the okay to deplete the stores, so you'll have a valid excuse not to give Oyaji any?"

"Tempting, but no. Even if there were alcohol left, I am absolutely not giving him any until he's recovered."

Izo snorted. "Good luck with that."

"That, and alcohol poisoning is a huge pain in the ass."

* * *

The following morning was bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the grimness that enveloped the sun-kissed decks of the Moby Dick and its sisters.

When the sun rose, Marco had roused the crew and gathered them on deck, hungover or not to give an update on the crew's current state.

The previous day, as soon as things had calmed down and they had gotten far enough from Marineford, each division commander had done a headcount of their division and reported the tallies to Marco whilst their allied crews did the same via Transponder.

The numbers weren't pretty.

Compared to their original numbers, the Whitebeard crew had lost about one eighth of their crew.

Those numbers didn't even include the loss their allies incurred.

The Whitebeards were completely silent as they took in the news. Though they tried to hide it, they couldn't quite manage to stop the shaking in their hands. Tears were shed not too quietly, but none had the heart to say anything when they themselves had to make an effort to keep the sting in their eyes at bay.

The Sun Pirates who were sailing next to them remained silent as well, respectfully giving the Emperor's crew the space they needed.

Marco allowed some time for his crew to grieve, before relaying to them their next course of action which he and his fellow commanders had decided on after an early morning meeting.

The crew needed to recover, and after much discussion, the commanders had decided to head to Whitebeard's homeland. It wasn't part of the World Government and the marines had no jurisdiction there, so it was an ideal location for the crew to hide out on.

On their way there, they would make a quick stop at Spesery Island -a small, backwater island on the edge of the Calm Belt under Whitebeard's protection—to pick up their sisters and restock.

"Many of our family was lost," The first division commander began, "But they will be forever in our memories. For them, and for ourselves, we will continue living life to the fullest."

Blue eyes met those of the crew with a steady gaze.

"Do not let their sacrifices be in vain yoi."

In response, the Whitebeard Pirates grinned, and let out a huge roar in concert. The ships shook with their yell, as if they too were agreeing.

Shortly after, the crew dispersed to different corners of the ships, falling into some semblance of routine for all that it would never be the same. The wounds were still raw, but they had each other to lean on.

The cooks hastened to their respective kitchens to finish cooking breakfast. It was getting late; the crew needed the energy to keep the ships running and darn it all if the cooks weren't going to do their jobs right.

* * *

 _He glared down at a straw hat-wearing boy who was sitting at the base of a large tree, tied to it and smiling._

" _Let's kill him."_

" _Right. Let's do that."_

" _EEHHH! Don't kill me!"_

 _And then the sounds of the forest faded away._

 _He looked up, expecting to see dense tree canopies, but found a dirty wooden ceiling instead._

" _Here's dinner." A large, orange-haired woman yelped, barely catching the deer thrown at her._

" _Roast it. Fast."_

" _Dinner!"_

 _He walked past her, pipe in hand and suddenly he was flying, a voice yelling to not come out until they counted to ten thousand before he landed in hot water._

 _Right. This was the bathroom. He remembered._

 _And then he felt heavy. Sinking._

 _A hand wrapped around his middle and pulled him up above the water._

" _I've got him!"_

 _Who…?_

"… _why do you call him your father, anyway?"_

" _Because he calls us his sons."_

 _A familiar voice. He lifted his head._

" _It's just a word. But it makes us happy."_

 _A familiar face._

" _Everyone is a child of the sea."_

 _Marco._

 _Whitebeard._

 _A sword pierced through skin and flesh, protruding from the man's back._

 _Traitor!_

 _He wanted to scream._

 _Screams resounded through the air, and he looked up._

" _It doesn't matter, we're gonna die!"_

 _A figure with a straw hat free fell from the sky and he felt his heart skip a beat._

 _Luffy!_

" _Sabo was such a kind older brother." A childish voice sighed._

" _What's that supposed to mean?! Would you rather I died instead?"_

 _Trees shifted, turning into a worn, wooden cottage._

" _I heard that you were a naughty boy, Ace-kun…but you're surprisingly well-behaved." A woman's kind voice said, and he felt his face grow warm. "I-If you say so."_

 _Snickering could be heard nearby._

" _He's embarrassed."_

" _Ace, your face is all red!"_

…

Ace's hand was intertwined with Luffy's tightly as he slept, head pillowed on his other arm and snoring lightly. His pillow had been thrown across the room, while the blanket had slipped from his shoulders to the ground.

This admittedly heart-warming scene was what greeted Marco when he entered the room.

Picking up the pillow, the first division commander made his way over soundlessly and placed it at the foot of the bed before draping the blanket on the back of Ace's chair.

Marco's eyes flickered between his fellow commander and the tray in his hands that carried a large bowl of steaming hot broth.

 _Should I wake him?_ He wondered. _Though normally he'd wake up on his own the moment he smelled food._

Ace grunted and turned around so that he faced Marco, and only then did the Phoenix notice the many different emotions that flashed across the younger man's freckled face. He wondered what Ace was dreaming of to have so many reactions. One moment he was smiling, and then it turned into a frown. Sadness appeared soon, followed by a low growl which quickly turned into a whimper. The older D. started to fidget, and Marco took that as his cue to wake the sleeping man.

"Ace, wake up." Marco lightly kicked his chair.

Ace stirred a little but didn't wake.

Marco called his name again and kicked a little harder.

Still no.

Resignedly, Marco took two steps back. He didn't want to do this, honestly, but Ace was having nightmares now and the first division commander didn't need to touch him to know that his hand would come away damp with sweat.

"UGWAHH!" Ace yelped from where he was sprawled unseemly on the floor. "Marco? What the hell–"

Marco used his legs to expertly launch the pillow he'd picked up earlier into Ace's face, effectively silencing him.

"Lunch." The blonde placed the tray down on the newly vacated chair. "You missed out on breakfast yoi."

Ace rubbed his face and yawned. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Assuming you haven't woken up in between, about sixteen hours, I think." Marco gestured to the tray. "Eat up."

Ace looked over at the tray. The broth smelled nice, and probably tasted great, but…

"I'm not really hungry." He didn't _**feel**_ hungry, though his stomach apparently wasn't on track with him.

 _Growl._

"…your stomach says otherwise." Marco commented.

Ace merely turned away, pointedly not looking at the older pirate.

Marco sighed and plopped down on the floor opposite Ace. The fire-logia was still not looking at Marco, though he was clearly struggling to maintain his distance.

"Ace, you _**need**_ to eat yoi." He nudged the bowl over. "Huan did a check-up on you while you were asleep; I don't know when you last ate but you're showing signs of malnourishment - no doubt thanks to the last month in Impel Down – and you're exhausted."

"I just slept for sixteen hours! I'm not tired!"

"You've slept but you haven't eaten anything yet. If you want to get back in shape quickly, you're going to have to eat."

Ace pursed his lips, still reluctant. However, he was starting to waver, and Marco would die before he let that opportunity slip away. God knew this kid was even more stubborn than a bull.

"Izo told me what you told Namur about the blanket yoi." Marco pushed, motioning at the sleeping form of the Straw Hat captain. "How do you think your brother would feel if he knew you weren't eating?"

"He'd be mad."

"My point exactly."

"Fine, I'll eat." Ace mumbled and reached for the bowl.

Before his hand closed around it, Marco stopped him and pushed the spoon into his hand instead.

"Eat slowly yoi." He cautioned. "Your stomach won't be able to take it if you gulp it all down like usual."

Marco couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty as he watched Ace slowly drink the broth, void of the vigour that had always been present during meal times previously. He had played low, using Luffy's possible reaction to get Ace to eat.

But hey, at least it worked.

The first division commander regarded Luffy, taking in the copious amount of bandages covering what visible part of his body. According to Huan, who'd taken care of him, it was mostly superficial wounds. There was some internal bruising and bleeding, but nothing life-threatening. The young captain would heal quickly with sufficient rest and food.

 _Thank Roger Ace has such a huge soft spot for you, eh?_

It may have been a trick of the light; in the sunlight that filtered in through the portholes, Marco thought he saw the corner of Straw Hat's mouth twitch upwards ever so slightly. He smiled to himself.

 _I guess the feeling's mutual._

* * *

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **Beep.**_

In a dimly lit room somewhere, a man lay unmoving, his auburn hair a clear contrast against the plain white of the sheets. He seemed to be asleep, the covers rising and falling in rhythm with his breathing.

Beside him, a monitor glowed lightly, multiple lines that zigzagged across the screen displayed numbers that depicted the man's condition.

A petite brunette stood in front of the monitor, writing down the numbers on a clipboard that she promptly placed on the bedside table. Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her lab coat.

"This is the sixth month already." Her lips were pursed as she watched him breathe. "How long are you going to sleep?"

 _Why are you still here?_

A sharp knock broke her from her thoughts.

"Windry!" Another woman, dressed in a pink nurse's uniform burst into the room, waving a copy of the paper excitedly. Her expression was a mix of excitement and relief. "They got him!"

The brunette – Windry—grinned and turned back to the man, while the nurse knowingly exited the room.

"You hear that?" She glared at the man. "Our family won the war and took him back. They'll be here soon, so you better wake up quickly, you hear me?"

Then, under her breath, she added. "He did it for you and got into this mess because of you; the least you could do is wake up to greet him."

The door closed none too quietly as the woman left.

 _Twitch._

The monitor beeped a little faster.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.

Beta'd by Anime Foxx

* * *

Marineford.

Blackbeard swore as he watched the Moby Dick sail away, washed out of the bay courtesy of a large body of water. He had no doubt that that was the work of one female assassin.

"Ah~looks like it's up to me." A lazy voice drawled.

The presence of Red-haired Shanks didn't help either.

With him in the way, the marines were unable to go after the Whitebeards or Straw Hat, and there was no way they were going to take on another Yonko crew when they had just clashed with the World's Strongest Man.

In other words, he was the only target remaining.

As of that moment, all the marines had their weapons trained on the newest Shichibukai-turned-traitor's crew while the admirals sans Akainu, Sengoku and Garp were eyeing him warily. The Red-haired Pirates hung back near their ship, but from the amount of tension they were producing, Blackbeard didn't doubt that they would attack in a split second if required.

From the corner of his eyes, he surveyed his crew, calculating the best course of action. His crew, while strong in their own rights, had very low chance of survival if they were to face both the marines and a Yonko crew at the same time.

His only option was to retreat.

…

Naturally, the marines didn't let them go without a fight, but eventually the Blackbeard Pirates managed to reach their ship, which was really just a warship they'd stolen at Impel Down. But screw technicalities, who cares as long as they got out. With the Gates Of Justice still open, the pirates left marine headquarters, reentering free waters. The marines didn't bother chasing after them. No, they already had way too much on their plate.

As they sailed out to open sea, Marshall D. Teach cursed as he remembered his failed objective-to kill his former captain and acquire his fruit.

 _Damn that Rainha for getting in my way._

He was going to have to make other plans.

* * *

The news of the war spread like fire. After the war had ended, the newspaper had released the news of the Whitebeards' victory and the escape of the Pirate King's son. While no one was surprised at the outcome, plenty were at the concluding factor.

The newspaper hadn't bothered to filter the articles. News of the Whitebeards' victory took up most of the front page, while the bottom of it was dedicated to the mysterious assassin and her accomplice that had jumped in at the last minute. Not much detail was provided for the accomplice, but the journalists had dug up every bit of information they could find about the elusive assassin that had managed to injure Akainu, though there wasn't much. With their dramatic words, speculation of her motives became the most talked about topic all over the world.

Many speculated that the assassin did it simply to mess with the marines, though others were convinced that the assassin guild she belonged to was one of Whitebeard's many allies. Passing by a group of pirates who were discussing the topic, a white-haired man pushed up his glasses as he silently listened in to their conversation. A moment later, he left and headed towards the lawless zone of the Sabaody Archipelago.

"Where do you think the Black Queen will head next?" He asked as he stepped into a hilltop bar and dropped down in a seat by the counter. The woman behind smiled as she wiped down the countertop. "Who knows?" She wondered out loud, lifting a bowl to wipe under it. "She might head to Edward's place."

"You know her, right?" The man asked. In reply, the woman shook her head lightly.

"We've had contact before, but I wouldn't say I know her."

"You wouldn't happen to have any way to contact her, would you?"

The woman pulled out a transponder snail from behind the bar and tossed it to the man. "It only connects to her."

"Thanks."

A few rings later, the call was picked up.

"State your name and business." A voice spoke coldly.

"This is Silvers Rayleigh." At the mention of his name, he saw the snail's previously expressionless face crack slightly before quickly smoothing back.

"The Dark King." The voice sounded a little surprised. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much, I just need you to do me a favour…"

* * *

On another island on the Grand Line, a woman with long teal-color hair and greyish blue eyes snorted as she scanned a copy of the paper she had acquired earlier on the roof of the local marine base.

A sea breeze blew gently, ruffling the sheets of papers in her hand.

She looked at the paper weirdly for a second, a wry smile on her face, then proceeded to roll it up.

"Show off." She said to no one, but there was undoubtedly a hint of fondness in her voice. A slingbag was opened and the newspaper stuffed into it. Seconds later, the woman vanished, leaving no trace of her presence.

* * *

"Thank gods they're okay!" A green haired woman exclaimed. Opposite her, a large woman with curly ginger hair and a short man with round glasses shared the same relief as they read the headlines of the latest newspaper.

The large woman snorted at the other woman's exclamation. "Those boys wouldn't go down that easily. Not to mention she is with them."

"You're right." The green haired woman wiped a stray tear. "Ace and Luffy are strong. And they have their sister too." The man on the other hand, looked confused. "What does this have anything to do with that girl?" He pointed to the bottom of the front page. "They say it was an assassin who saved them."

Both women sweat dropped. Seeing their expressions, the man grew slightly irritated.

"Oi, Makino, Dadan, if you know anything just say it!"

Makino laughed sheepishly, but refused to tell. Dadan didn't care if the man wanted to know.

It was a secret entrusted to them.

* * *

On a ship, somewhere…

"This is definitely him." A petite brunette was saying to the crowd that had gathered around her to read the newspaper.

For once, someone's attention wasn't on the Whitebeards or the Black Queen, but on the blurry picture that featured a cloaked man standing next to Whitebeard.

"No doubt about it. They did say he was with Rainha."A fishman with yellow skin said, rubbing his chin. Next to him, a young man looked clueless about what was going on as he peered at the paper. "Who's that, Koala-san?" He asked. He knew his colleagues were talking about the unknown person in the paper, and from their words he could guess they knew him. Point was, he didn't. The second the words left him, all eyes in the room landed on him.

"Hmm? Oh, him? He's no one." Koala waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Just our good-for-nothing Chief of Staff who dumped all his work on me and went off to play hero."

"Oh, okay…wait, Chief of Staff?" The fishman, Hack cocked a brow at him curiously. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Well…I thought Koala-san was the Chief of Staff…"

"Nah. That idiot's the chief, I'm his babysitter. Speaking of which, I believe I owe him a call." She smiled, and went to get a transponder snail.

As soon as she left the room, everyone let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding.

"Is it just me, or did the temperature drop a little just now?"

* * *

"Sir, today's newspaper just came in."

Behind a large desk, a man in his sixties looked up from his work, regarding his assistant curiously. "Should I be worried? You don't usually bring me the paper." He asked, pushing up the pair of reading glasses that had begun to slide.

His assistant, a man who looked around thirty coughed into his hand. "I don't, but I figured you might want to see this for yourself." He explained and handed over the folded paper.

The older man made a sound of surprise as he took in the headlines. "So that's where she disappeared off to." He commented offhandedly. "I was starting to wonder if she ditched us."

"Unlikely case, sir." The assistant replied. "Rainha is the most loyal person I know."

"And you would know, how?" The man retorted, cocking an eyebrow teasingly. As expected, his assistant turned a nice shade of red at his comment. Sputtering, he hurriedly excused himself, but not before his superior got another word in.

"Don't be shy! We know you like her!"

That was the last the poor assistant heard as the door closed shut, well, besides the howling laughter.

Having had his fill, the man calmed down and closed the paper. "I suppose I should give her a call?" He wondered, looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

A large man with curled hair burst through the ornate doors that lead to the parlour, frantically waving a roll of paper in his hand.

"Cobra-sama! Vivi-sama!" He called, drawing the attention of the blue-haired girl and her father who were in the middle of the room eating breakfast.

"Igaram! What's got you so hyped up?" Vivi giggled as she watched the captain of the royal guard bend to catch his breath. Holding out the paper, he said in between breaths. "The war…Whitebeard…won…Luffy-san…and his…brother…are both…safe!"

"What? Really?" She cried as she snatched the paper from his hands, frantically scanning the headlines. "Oh, thank goodness!" She exhaled, feeling a weight lift of her heart as she read the news about the D. brothers' escape from Marineford. "Thank goodness, both Luffy-san and Ace-san are safe."

"Vivi, do you know Fire Fist Ace?" A voice over a shoulder spoke, scaring the blue-haired princess that she almost dropped the paper.

"Papa! Don't scare me like that!" She scolded. "And yes, I do know him. We met when I was travelling with Luffy-san and the others through the desert. Haven't I told you about it?"

"You only said you met Luffy's brother…" The king replied, eliciting a giggle from his daughter. "What's so funny?"

"Papa, Ace-san _**is**_ Luffy's brother!"

A look of realisation dawned on the king. "So that's why you were so upset when news of his execution came out!" He realised, thinking back to his daughter's weird reaction to the news several weeks back. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"W-well…" Vivi blushed, then proceeded to shove the paper into her father's face to switch topics. "Th-that's not important now. Look at the news! They say an assassin saved them!"

Cobra pulled the paper away from his face and looked down at the article. "The Black Queen?"

"Your Majesty, isn't that the assassin we met a few years back?" Pell inquired, looking over the king's shoulder.

"It is."

"Papa, have you met her?" Vivi asked curiously.

Cobra nodded. "Me, Pell, Chaka and Igaram have all met her. It was several years ago…"

* * *

"You know, maybe I should have expected to see Little Black there." Shanks mused as he downed yet another bottle of rum within the confines of his cabin.

"Uh huh." The Red Hair's first mate, Benn Beckman hummed from across the room where he was reading the day's paper. "You wanna look at the paper?"

The red-haired captain snorted. "Nah, that article's full of marine bullshit. Who'd want to read it?"

Benn countered easily, pointing out that only those involved knew what had transpired at Marineford. In other words, everyone else would read it.

"True." Shanks replied, dropping the empty bottle into the growing pile next to his bed. "But I was there. So meh, moot point."

In response, Benn simply rolled his eyes, having long known how his captain's mind worked.

"Just so you know, I've told Willis* to set course for the New World. Figured that's what you'd want, unless you have other ideas?"

"Eh…I was thinking of going to one of our islands. You know, those uninhabited ones with lotsa wild animals? Give the guys some vacation time."

"Faune Island then?"

"Yeah, sure…which one was that?"

"One of those uninhabited ones with lots of wild animals."

"…"

"..."

"Hey Benn?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna prank call Little Black?"

* * *

Things were progressing smoothly. After making sure everything was in order, Marco had returned to his room. Glad that there was nothing else to do, he sat down at his desk and checked things off his to-do list. The food and weapons store was checked, every equipment aboard the ship checked, and their course plotted. Marco leaned back in his chair and cracked his neck to release the knots of stress. He stood up and flopped onto his bed. Finally, he could get some much-deserved rest!

…Or not.

He had probably been asleep for about two hours judging by the light that shone through the porthole yet it felt like less. He would've slept longer, but someone up there must've had a grudge against him and so decided to wake him up in the worst way possible.

Marco clutched his midsection, doubled over on his bed after something had crashed through the roof on landed directly on him, hard.

"What the fuck…" He cursed as he waited for the pain to subside.

"Did you have to push me!" A voice yelled out angrily. The voice sounded familiar and the blonde commander had to wonder where he had heard it. "It was just a few pieces of chocolate!"

"It was chocolate from Cacao Island! And I warned you not to touch them!" A distinctly female voice yelled back, though it sounded far away and was accompanied by the beating of wings that no doubt belonged to a large bird. Marco looked up through the new hole in his ceiling, catching a glimpse of a large white bird. That bird…he turned to closer inspect the person who had almost crushed him. He was dressed in clothes similar to those of nobles, but Marco could see the difference between those gaudy attires and the clothes in front of him seem to be designed for practicality. A blue top hat with goggles around the rim sat on his head of messy blonde hair, obscuring most of the man's face from sight. The man didn't seem to notice him and was still yelling profanities towards the unknown woman outside.

"You're the guy from yesterday." Marco stated as the man paused for breath, drawing his attention. The man turned towards him and blinked owlishly.

"Hi." He greeted casually, completely dismissing the fact that he was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Marco shot him a deadpanned glare and was about to speak when someone burst into his room.

"Marco!" Fossa yelled, almost knocking the door down. "The Black Queen is…oh. What happened?"

"This guy…" He pointed at the man. "Gave me a very rude wake-up call."

Five minutes later…

On the Moby's Deck, both parties stood facing each other. By the railings, a man and woman stood together while a large white bird stood behind them. Unlike the man, who wore mostly blue, the woman's was completely black. She wore a black dress of sorts that reached her knees with a split down the middle which started at her waist. Underneath that, she wore black pants which were tucked into combat boots of the same colour. A hood covered her face along with her signature black mask. By the cabins were the Whitebeards with Marco at the front.

"Well this is awkward." The woman muttered. Turning to Marco, she inclined her head slightly. "Sorry for earlier. That was my fault actually."

Then she pushed down on the man's head. "You apologize too."

"It wasn't even my fault!" He protested, but only succeeded in getting a slap over the head. Getting the message, the man, though reluctant, apologized. To their surprise, Marco bowed deeply in reply.

"Thank you." He said. "Without your help, we might have lost both Oyaji and Ace." Following his lead, the rest of the Whitebeards also bowed, leaving the other two groups to stare in shock. After a moment, the woman-Rainha-sighed. "Get up. We didn't do it for you."

"Even so, it doesn't change that fact." Marco replied as he got up, the others following suit. "We can never thank you enough."

Behind her mask, Rainha rolled her eyes. "Do what you want. At any rate, I'm only here to see Fire Fist and Straw Hat."

* * *

Beside Luffy's bed, Ace had fallen asleep once again after eating the lunch that one of the crew had brought down for him. He had been imprisoned for the better part of last month, and Level 6 in Impel Down wasn't exactly what one would define as comfy. A few weeks of hanging from chains by his hands had his entire body sore and aching all over, and the little work out he had after Luffy released his cuffs didn't help either. His body craved for a bed and adequate rest yet his mind demanded to remain near his little brother. His went with his mind. One of the doctors had told him earlier that Luffy was expected to wake after a few days, and he thought, hey, he'd endured a few weeks of sleeping with his arms chained, what's a few more days of bad sleep. At least he was sitting down and his arms were free. Thus, circumstances found him dozing off in the dim lighting of the infirmary room, drifting off into dreamland.

His dreams this time weren't half as pleasant as the last.

He had dreamt of his childhood days, yet those days had never happened. In his dream, he was back at Grey Terminal with Luffy and Sabo.

 _They had been hunting through the trash heaps for anything they could use or sell when heavy footfalls interrupted their everyday banter. He looked up but instead of Sabo's dad as he remembered, a large man with curly black hair stood in front of him. He held Luffy and Sabo up in both hands, their forms limp._

 _"Zehahaha. Commander Ace, your brothers are pretty cute, aren't they? Especially this one." He laughed, shaking Luffy around like a rag doll. Ace's eyes widened in recognition. "Blackbeard!" He growled. "Let go of them! Don't you dare touch my brothers!" The man laughed again, the sound sending shudders down his spine. "What're you gonna do about it, commander?" He gestured at Ace with his left hand, Sabo swinging wildly with the movement. "In case you haven't noticed, you're a kid too!" Ace looked down in horror. He was right. He was a kid now, he thought, staring at his much smaller hands. He started to panic. What was he going to do? He couldn't beat Blackbeard as an adult, how could he possibly beat him now as a kid?! If he couldn't beat him, he couldn't save Sabo and Luffy and if he couldn't save them they would…Ace didn't want to go there. If he did, he might sink into an endless loop of fear, hate and regret that no one could break. He sunk to his knees, Blackbeard's noisome laugh ringing overhead. C'mon Ace think! He yelled to himself. There has to be some way you can save them! There has to be…_

 _"Ace!" A clear voice cut through the laughter, pulling him out of his despair. Then, Blackbeard disappeared and in his place stood a young girl with jet black hair that just reached past her shoulders. Her hand was outstretched towards him, ushering him forward. Sabo and Luffy stood next to her, grinning as always._

 _"Don't worry, Ace. You're safe. The bad man's gone now, see? Sabo and Luffy are safe now." The girl said, smiling gently as she ruffled Luffy's hair. Ace unconsciously took a step towards them, his hand reaching out to meet hers._

 _"I'll protect you, Ace. I promise."_

 _Just a bit closer…_

"Ace!" Ace almost jumped out of his skin when someone shook him by the shoulders. Shocked out of slumber, he looked up to see Izo next to him, a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Izo?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes, still a little sleepy. Izo chuckled at the sight. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." He joked, calling Ace by the nickname the crew had given him. "You have a guest."

Curious, Ace got up and followed Izo up to the deck, but not before he gave his unconscious little brother a quick once over. Izo merely smiled at his overprotectiveness. It was one of Ace's most endearing traits, and made the youngest Whitebeard so much more lovable in the eyes of his seniors. He led the fire user up topside, his kimono swishing in time with every step. When they finally exited the dim hallways, only a few were left on deck.

The others had long dispersed, either to prepare for dinner, to man the ship or simply to do personal business. Those who stayed were all commanders, to be specific, the first, third, fifth, twelfth and with the addition of Ace and Izo, the second and sixteenth. Haruta was talking to the assassin, trying to get as much information as possible but Rainha was just as much of an expert in avoiding questions as Haruta was at prying secrets. Without giving away anything, she answered every question with vague answers, frustrating the brunette commander to no end. He was just about to storm off when he saw Ace come up behind Izo. In seconds, he was dragging his fellow commander in the direction of the group, all the while complaining about how the assassin was picking on him.

The commotion drew the attention of the other three commanders who were speaking off to the side and their two guests who had leaning against the railings.

"Marco." Ace walked, detaching Haruta from his arm. "Izo said I had guests?" Marco gestured in the assassin's direction. "Yep. You do remember her, don't you?" Turning to them, Ace's first reaction was to freeze in shock.

"…Sabo?"

* * *

Ace felt like he was in a dream. That couldn't be Sabo! There was simply no way! Sabo was dead…had been for 10 years. He thought bitterly. Yet the name flowed from him naturally in reaction to the man in a blue coat, with the familiar top hat and goggle combination perched on top of a nest of blonde curls. He was exactly what Ace imagined Sabo to look like when he grew up, except that his journey had ended that day 10 years ago and he never had a chance to. The familiar heaviness that weighed in his heart reminded him every day about how weak he was back then, and the tattoo on his arm pushed him to train harder every day, determined to get stronger so he could protect those he cared about.

"Who are you?" He asked coldly. The man looked at him hesitantly, as if he was thinking of what to tell Ace. But Ace wasn't exactly known for his patience, and nearly threw a hiken at him when he took too long.

"Wait! Wait! Don't torch me so quickly! It's me! Sabo!" The man yelled frantically, earning a glare from Ace for his troubles. "You're lying. Sabo died ten years ago, there's no way you're him." He stated coldly. The man sighed. "I thought you'd react like that." Loosening his cravat, he hooked a finger underneath his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was a simple design, just a long chain with a blue 'S' shaped pendant dangling from it. "I'm not lying. See?" Ace's eyes narrowed. "Where'd you get that?" He asked, a little more convinced now. "Those pendants were custom made."

"It was a gift. There were four of these, 'A', 'S', 'L' and 'AL'."

As the words left his mouth, Ace started to tremble. Then, without warning, his punched the guy, sending him sprawling onto the deck. The man-Sabo-propped himself onto his elbow, caressing his cheek where the fire user's fist had made contact. "I know I deserved that, but did you really have to punch that hard?" He grumbled as he looked into silver eyes.

"You idiot!" Ace yelled, grabbing him by the collar. "Where the hell have you been? How are you not dead? Why didn't you come back? Or even send a letter? Do you know how wrong it felt without you? Luffy cried when he heard about your ship being blown up! He. Cried! I cried! Nee-chan and Makino and Dadan and the bandits cried!"

Sabo averted his eyes guiltily. "I couldn't help it." He said quietly. "I was rescued after my ship sunk, but I hit my head and as a result lost my memories. I didn't remember until 5 years ago."

"Five years?!" Ace roared in shock. "Then why didn't you come back if you'd remembered five years ago?!"

"I had my reasons." He replied, but said no more. Ace recognised that look in his eyes and sighed. It was that look he got whenever there was something he didn't want to tell them. But for once, Ace didn't care. He had just gotten his brother back and for now, that was all that mattered. Pulling him close, Ace wrapped Sabo in a bone crushing hug, his head buried in the crook of his shoulders. Sabo recognised the tell-tale signs of crying from the way his shoulders shook, but didn't say anything. A moment later, Ace pulled away and grinned. "Luffy will be so happy when he wakes up. And Nee-chan too! And everyone else back at Dawn! We have to tell them-"

"Actually, Nee-chan already knows."

"What? How?"

"Well…she was the one who helped me regain my memories…"

"So she knows?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

"I have to call her."

"Why?"

"To ask her why she never told us."

"That's 'because I asked her not to. Anyhow, you don't have to call her. She's right behind you."

"What?"

Marco was lost. Utterly lost.

This guy, the masked guy who helped them yesterday, was Ace's brother? And not just any brother, but one that had supposedly died ten years ago? He had a feeling that his brothers were just as lost. And then there was that conversation about a sister. Ace's brother said she was behind Ace, so that would be…he traced the invisible line, and landed on the assassin who had been momentarily forgotten. Ace had also turned around and had apparently came to the same conclusion.

"Nee-chan?"

Rainha, who had been silently waiting for the rock to drop suspired audibly at the shocked expressions on their faces. Reaching under her hood, she pulled out a necklace similar to the one Sabo had shown earlier, though the pendant was a different one.

"About time." She said exasperatedly, pulling down her hood to reveal long black hair that was bound in a low ponytail. She subsequently removed her mask and stuffed it into a waist bag at her side, revealing side-swept bangs that fringed her face, and eyes that were apparently heterochronic, seeing as it was violet on the left and gold on the right. Thin brows arched above her eyes, and a button nose along with slightly thin lips gave her an air of youth.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't notice me at all."

Ace laughed sheepishly, automatically falling into the familiar atmosphere. He didn't dare say that if Sabo hadn't told him, he might actually not notice her. Though to be fair, he didn't know that she was the Black Queen. Speaking of which…

"How come you never told me you were the Black Queen?" He protested. Luffy, he could understand, since their little brother could be really loose-lipped at times. He had heard the name plenty of times since he set sail, and even more since he joined the Whitebeards thanks to Haruta, but he had never thought that the assassin would be someone he knew.

Rainha shrugged in response. "You never asked."

Haruta cut in before Ace had a chance to retort. The twelfth commander cried in mock hurt, whining about how Ace had betrayed him by not telling him that he knew the assassin, causing everyone to roll their eyes at his antics.

"Stop badgering him, Haruta. Can't you see the poor kid didn't know either?" Vista laughed, clapping a hand on his shoulder in goodwill. The look of betrayal one the youngest commander's face was a rare sight since it was one of the times he looked his age. Marco chuckled, then turned to the assassin. "So who are you really?" Ace, hearing the question, deemed it an appropriate opportunity to escape the clutches of his ship brothers and sought refuge next to Rainha. Half hidden behind the assassin, which in fact wasn't effective at all since Rainha was about half a head shorter than him, he grinned at his crewmates. "Guys, lemme introduce you. This is Sabo, my younger brother and uh…our elder sister!"

The pin dropped.

They had figured out the relation between Ace and Sabo earlier, but...

"Elder sister?!" Their jaws fell open.

"Yup!" Ace replied, throwing his arms over his now revealed sister. "We're not related by blood though."

"Obviously." Marco rolled his eyes. "Since Roger never had a child before you. Speaking of which, why have we never heard you mention them before? Or rather, how did you not recognise them in Marineford."

"Ah well…reasons. And I didn't recognise them before 'cause one, I didn't know Nee-chan's an assassin, and two, I thought Sabo was dead."

"We don't want to know, do we?"

Rainha cut in, the smile on her face sending chills up their spines. "Nope."

"I thought so."

"Now that that's all cleared up…" Quicker than they could react, Rainha reached out and grabbed Ace by the shoulders, and in one swift movement, threw him into the main mast.

Bewildered by the sudden attack, his silver eyes looked up to meet his sister's and almost shuddered at the iciness in her eyes.

"Don't you have something to tell me, **_dear little brother_**?"

Ace paled.

 _Shit._

He was so dead.

* * *

*Willis : One of the RH pirates, blonde guy with shades. Nameless in canon.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.

Beta'd by Anime Foxx

psps***I recently published a new story called 'ReunionS'. It's a story about Sabo and his past that is co-written with **rose7anne101** and beta'd by **Black Victor Cachat**. Go check it out if you're interested! You can find it on my profile! XD

Summary: He had just remembered, things that he should have never forgotten. The memories had come too late, and for a second Sabo thought 'Maybe I shouldn't have remembered.' But he did, and what matters now is that he was on his way to face what he had forgotten. Written by **Syrisna** and **Rose7anne101** , you're welcome to check out our other works. Beta'd by **Black Victor Cachat**.

Drop a review if you can : ) We're open for ideas (BMS too)

* * *

"Well?"

"…"

"I'm waiting, Ace."

On the Moby Dick, a rare sight was on display. The second division commander, famous for his hot-headedness, was sitting _**properly**_ in front of a woman _**quietly**_. The woman, who had been introduced as his sister was tapping her foot impatiently against the wood.

" _ **Ace**_." Her voice dropped into a lower tone, sending shivers up his spine. He didn't recognise that tone, but his senses were tingling like crazy, like they always did when danger was imminent.

"Sorry…" He grumbled reluctantly, only to shriek in pain immediately when a hand latched onto his left ear, twisting in all the way.

"OWOWOW! Nee-chan! That's my ear!"

She was even using haki to prevent him from turning into fire. Unable to escape, he threw a look at Sabo, but his brother merely stood there without lifting a finger, only throwing an apologetic look his way.

If even Sabo couldn't help, Ace didn't count on his ship brothers. He knew them too well. Especially Marco and the other commanders. In this case, they wouldn't stop his sister. They'd join in instead.

That and they knew better than to get in the way of an angry woman.

"'Sorry' doesn't cut it, little brother." Rainha said icily, letting go of his ear. "I know you're lacking in brain cells sometimes but this is beyond tolerance."

"Running back to face an admiral when you've just escaped execution?" She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at him. "What the hell were you thinking?"

He could hear the anger and worry that she didn't even bother to hide, and the guilt that had been sitting on his chest suddenly seemed to increase tenfold. But he had his reasons! He was defending Oyaji's pride. What was wrong with that?

His thoughts must have shown on his face, because the next thing he knew, he was being scolded again.

"Don't give me that look. You knew very well that whatever nonsense that crazy mutt spouted was a lie, and you still took the bait. And at what price? Your life?" She sighed wearily. "If I know the way Whitebeard operates, he would call you stupid. And probably all your crewmates too."

Ace glanced over at his crew, only to see them nodding in agreement. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" He mumbled.

"That you did." Sabo replied from his perch on the railing, eliciting a scowl from the fire user.

"Ace," Marco, ever the eldest, walked up to him and kneeled. "I know it's infuriating to hear someone slander Oyaji's name, but you have to remember, your life is more important than his pride could ever be. In fact, all of ours are. We'd gone to war with the marines to save you, not to see you throw it away right after we did." He paused to take a breath. "If your brother and sister hadn't shown up, it scares me to think what could've happened. It's only thanks to them that both you and Oyaji are still here with us."

Ace remained silent, not knowing what to say.

He had almost thrown his life away, and in that process endangered not only the lives of his crew, but also his captain and little brother.

He was a commander, for god's sake! He was supposed to take care of the crew, not the other way around.

 _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ He scolded himself. _If it wasn't for my accursed blood this would never have happened!_

A warmth enveloped Ace as clothed arms wrapped themselves around him in an embrace.

Pulling her brother close, Rainha held him tight as she allowed the worry to flow out of her.

"Does it matter if you're Roger's son? You're you, Ace and no one else." She whispered. "And just like everyone else, you deserve to live. Never think that you don't." Because you are worth much more than what the world will ever know.

He stills, a strange feeling welling up inside him, and feels his eyes grow a little wet. Slowly, he reaches up to return the hug, drawing comfort from his sister's words.

There's a feeling of déjà vu, and he knows why. Ace has had a similar conversation with his siblings years ago, and memories from then surface, the words repeating themselves in his mind.

 _"Does it matter if your father is Gold Roger? He's him, and you're you. Why do you care what other people say?"_

 _"Yeah! We love Ace because Ace is Ace!" Luffy had chipped in happily as he munched on his dinner._

 _Sabo just grinned and pointed at Luffy. "What he said."_

That was the first time he had felt the burden of being Roger's son lessen. It was a long time ago, but to Ace, it would always seem like yesterday.

At that time, he hadn't answered them. Even if it had lessened, he still had his doubts.

He hadn't understood at the time, still a child who had only seen a small edge of the world.

But now, Ace thinks he understands a little.

 _Maybe,_ he thinks. _I can let go now._

There was no need to hide anymore, not when the whole world already knew.

He felt another person join them, strong arms encircling them in a warm embrace.

"Sabo…"

Sabo chuckled softly, and whispered to him. "Try not to do anything that'll cause heart attacks again, dear brother. You'll make Nee-chan go grey before she turns fifty."

Ace laughed.

Now they were just missing Luffy, and everything would be perfect.

* * *

Marco and the Whitebeards stood some ways away, smiles gracing their features as they watched the three siblings. It was evident that they cared deeply for each other, even the assassin that was rumoured to have a heart of ice.

Sure, she had scolded him, but that was obviously because she was worried. Not to mention Ace really needed that scolding.

Watching them, Marco couldn't help but wonder what kind of person was Rainha exactly.

During the war, she was everything the rumours had mentioned and more. But when she came looking for Ace, she seemed softer and not as cold. When she was scolding him, a hint of iciness had crept into her voice, yet the next it was gone, and the sister stood in place of the assassin once more.

Her changing demeanour intrigued the first commander to no end.

Hopefully, he'd get to see her more.

Rainha was, for a lack of a better word, an interesting woman.

And she was Ace's sister to boot.

"Thanks for saving Ace."

After their little heartfelt moment, Rainha had left the two brothers to catch up and dragged Marco off to the side, saying that she wanted to speak with him in private. Leading him to the ship's bow, she leaned against the railings and let out a deep breath.

"Ace is our brother, we would never abandon him." Opposite her, Marco stood with his hands stuffed into his pockets and unabashedly studied the woman who Ace called his sister. It was nearing dusk now, the setting sun casting an orange glow over her which seemed to make her eyes shine brighter. For a moment, Marco found himself lost in those deep pools of gold and violet.

"I was there, you know." She spoke, looking out at the sea. "He said the only father he has is Whitebeard." Her lips curled in a faint smile, and the first commander couldn't help but smile too. He could understand where she was coming from.

"He's a troublesome kid, but thanks for taking care of him. And Luffy too."

"Like I said, he's our brother. And any family of his is one of ours."

She chuckled softly. "I figured you'd say that. By the way…" She turned to face him. "I would like to speak with your captain."

"Why?"

Rainha put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. "Confidential matters for the captain's ears only, dear commander."

"Right. Confidential. "Marco rolled his eyes, but started in the direction of the captain's quarters."Good timing though. Oyaji just woke up and he wants to see you and your brother, but I don't think he's going to want to leave Ace anytime soon." Following behind him, the assassin cocked her head, an amused smile playing on her face. "Aren't you worried I might do something to Whitebeard?" She wondered. These guys were too trusting, she thought. Even though she's Ace sister, shouldn't they at least be a little wary of her. She was after all, an assassin. Seemingly ignorant of the implications of her question, Marco replied with a simple no and continued to the cabins, stopping in front of a large door. He rapped on it twice, entering a few moments later after a reply from inside came.

Inside the dimly lit room, Whitebeard was lying on a large bed, hooked up to various machines. When he saw who had entered, he immediately set aside the book he had been reading and turned his attention towards his son and the assassin.

"Marco, I see you've brought our guest."

Rainha stepped up, and bowed slightly, just enough to show respect. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Rainha, Ace's sister."

Whitebeard quirked an eyebrow in intrigue.

"I've heard."He replied as he studied the assassin.

He'd always thought his youngest son had only one sibling, but apparently there were two more. Ace had never mentioned them before, but he could understand why. His sister was the Black Queen, in which case she would want their relationship to remain confidential. Although that didn't explain the other brother.

However, inside the confines of his mind, the Yonko was absolutely roaring with laughter. Who would've thought? Ever since they first heard the name 'Luffy', the thought had never once crossed their minds that Ace would have another sibling other than Monkey D. Luffy, let alone two! One was apparently older than him. And a girl to boot! Not to mention said girl was a world-renowned assassin who was said to be scary as hell. But then again, they shouldn't be surprised anymore, should they?

After all, the kid's family was way beyond what one would call 'messed up'.

Nope, it was completely screwed to the end of the Grand Line.

He already had Monkey D. Garp for a grandfather, the late Pirate King Gol D. Roger for a dad, and the Revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon's son Monkey D. Luffy for a brother. What was one more elite assassin and who knows what identity the other brother held?

As if he knew what she was here for, he sent Marco away to which the commander obliged to without question. Once he was out of earshot, she straightened.

"Whitebeard-san," She started. "I have a proposal for you."

* * *

Leaving the captain's quarters, Marco made his way back to the deck where they had left his fellow commanders. When he reached them, there was a sizable crowd surrounding the two brothers as Sabo regaled the tale of how he regained his memories.

From what little he caught, their sister apparently had a lot to do with it. The pirates were roaring in laughter at something he said, and thus no one noticed Marco approaching except for the commanders who stood off to one side. He joined them and Haruta leaned closer to whisper. "You missed the best part."

He snorted and looked around, noticing that a large part of the gathered crowd was made up of the crew's cooks. Exasperated, he "whispered" back to Haruta. "If the cooks are all here listening to stories, who's making dinner?"

Horrified, the cooks immediately sped off to the kitchens, leaving behind a significantly diminished crowd of equally horrified pirates.

Sabo looked over to him, the intrigue in his blue eyes clear as day.

However, before he could approach him, the man had quickly run off along with Ace, presumably to go see their brother, though he didn't miss the fleeting glance Sabo had cast at him before Ace led him below the deck.

Sabo, huh? Now there was another interesting individual. Out of all four siblings, he was the only blonde, and the way he dressed was eerily like those of nobles. But he was strong. Marco rubbed his midsection, remembering the rude wake-up call he'd received earlier. The younger blonde had gone through several floors before landing on him, but he didn't have a single scratch on him. Not to mention he was obviously the one who broke through the marines Encircling Wall during the war.

Like his sister, Marco had to wonder what kind of person he was. He wore a different mask than Rainha. While the assassin used iciness as a mask, Sabo used his smiles. The first commander wasn't sure which was worse. Frankly, both unnerved him since he could never tell what they were thinking, which made them a lot more unpredictable than others.

Marco sighed.

Sabo and Rainha had only arrived at this ship less than two hours ago, yet already he could feel something shifting.

Staring at the sun that was slowly dipping underneath the horizon, he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

He could only hope that the shift was for the better.

* * *

"That woman has made a fool of the marines! She must be dealt with!" Inside the fleet admiral's office, the top powers of the marines were holding a meeting in regard of the previous day's events.

Sengoku and Akainu sat opposite each other, while Garp, Tsuru, Aokiji and Kizaru sat on the couches perpendicularly. His arms crossed, Sengoku glared at the magma user from behind his glasses. "Keep your cool, Sakazuki. The Black Queen is not to be underestimated, you should know that better than us." Akainu faltered slightly as his wound throbbed at the mention, but sharpened as he coldly stated that it wouldn't be a hindrance to him. "Even so, we do not know what her limits are. What she displayed yesterday was barely a fraction of her true capabilities, that much I can say for sure." Tsuru cut in, effectively silencing both men. As a veteran marine, she was heralded as the Great Staff Officer, and was one of the oldest active marines. Leaning back against the sofa, she continued. "Furthermore, she is a member of Carin's guild. He is not someone to be trifled with, especially when it concerns his people."

"She is quite the unpredictable woman." Aokiji admitted. "I didn't think she'd be able to hold us back that easily."

Sengoku's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Exactly. Not to mention…" He trailed off, feeling no need to voice his thoughts out loud when everyone in the room knew what he had been going to say.

The previous day, after the Whitebeards had escaped, the marines had tried to give chase, but was unable to do so due to the Red Hair crew being in their way. Forced to admit defeat, Sengoku had given the order to tend to the wounded and clean the battlefield after one of Garp's apprentices' desperate cry to stop. The pink haired boy had promptly passed out, leaving his companion to fret over him. Garp sat next to them, his solemn expression one that the fleet admiral hadn't seen in years. The admirals were fine for the most part except for Akainu who was still trapped mid-motion.

He'd thought that was the end of things. But the world just loved proving him wrong. As the marines headed back to their headquarters, the sound of subsequent explosions was heard from the large building. They rushed back, only to find that five storage rooms, three offices and four databases had been blown up. In one of the rooms, they had found a signature drawn into the soot that covered the ground—a hexagram with an R in the middle. Sengoku had nearly pulled his hair out afterwards, when his subordinates had cleaned up and found more than several files missing, and even more from his own office.

"In any case, we will deal with the Black Queen at a later date. As things are now, we can barely keep ourselves in order, never mind try to find someone who we know next to nothing about." Sengoku concluded, ignoring the glare that Akainu was directing at him. "You are dismissed." Akainu left first, storming out the door angrily. Aokiji and Kizaru followed, and then Tsuru did too, claiming that she was going to check on things. Garp remained in his seat, highly aware that his colleague had questions for him, so it wasn't much of a surprise when Sengoku asked about the assassin.

"I don't know her." He stated firmly. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Not after she saved my grandsons." Sengoku didn't comment. He knew all too well what his friend's feelings for the government were. Garp was a man of family. Since their younger days, the old marine had always put his work before his family and had contributed greatly to the government, yet they had tried to kill his family. Those two brats may not have been innocent to the world, but to Garp, they were his grandsons and that was all that mattered.

Garp left without another word.

Alone in his office, Sengoku came to a decision.

* * *

Dinner was chaos as usual, but even more so with the arrival of another black hole.

As reminiscence of their childhood, Sabo and Ace had held an eating competition in the gallery of the Moby Dick. As was typical of the Whitebeard Pirates, betting pools were held amongst the crew for events like this.

Rainha sat in a corner of the room with her back to the wall, observing the chaos from behind a cup of tea. It was messy yet amusing at the same time, and she thought that her brothers fit in quite well.

They had just started on their 28th plate when the Whitebeard's first commander, along with three others slid in on the opposite side of the table. Marco, Izo, Namur and Blenheim. She noted, recalling their information. First, sixteenth, eighth and ninth commander.

"Mind if we join you?" Izo asked politely, to which she replied with a shrug. It wasn't her place to refuse, this was, after all, their ship.

She sipped her tea, not bothering to make conversation with the pirates. The commanders, Izo especially, tried to make small talk. He would ask her questions which she deftly answered without giving away anything. Then Blenheim asked a question she hadn't been expecting. "Are you staying long?" The older man asked as he chugged his ale. While the other commanders had not been present when she and Sabo arrived, they had apparently been told about her identity while the rest of the crew only knew her as Ace's sister.

Rainha set her cup down, careful not to make any noise. Looking up, she found four pairs of eyes on her, obviously waiting for her answer.

"Depends on when Luffy wakes up." She replied as she fingered her bag, thinking back to a call she had received just before she had come to the Moby Dick. _Never mind,_ she thought, shoving it to the back of her mind. _There'll be time for that later._

"Why aren't you eating?" Marco inquired, noticing the plate of food in front of her which was completely untouched. "Not hungry?" Tonight's dinner mainly consisted of seafood, the only thing they had on board besides dried food since they could easily catch it.

Rainha shook her head. "It's seafood." She told them, and called out to Sabo who was wiping his mouth clean, at the same time drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity. "Take it." She said, and pushed the plate in his direction. As soon as he did, she excused herself and left the gallery, leaving a room full of confused pirates behind.

"What did she mean by 'it's seafood'?" Izo asked confusedly, after a moment of silence. Along with all his crewmates, Ace was also confused, that was until Sabo leaned in to whisper something, to which his expression turned into one of realisation.

"Oh…that. Right. I forgot." He said as the memory finally came to mind.

"Well?" Marco prompted.

"Nee-chan doesn't eat seafood." Ace replied simply.

Sensing the question that was coming up, Sabo quickly answered. "It's a minor complication." Then he proceeded to drag Ace back to their table to finish the plate in his hands, leaving behind a large group of confused pirates.

After a while, one of the chefs spoke. "I don't suppose she's allergic or something?"

Over at their table, Ace and Sabo traded looks. _Bullseye, man_.

* * *

Shortly after Rainha left, Marco, having finished his dinner followed, feeling slightly concerned. When he stepped onto the deck, she was nowhere in sight. Then, a soft rustle, almost inaudible in the winds, caught his attention. Turning around, he spotted a silhouette on top of the cabin.

"…couldn't leave him…proposal…no leads yet…west…Sonia…lands…" From his position below, he could hear the assassin talking, and since he couldn't sense anyone else up there, she must've been talking on a transponder snail. Not wanting to eavesdrop, he remained where he stood, waiting for her to finish her conversation before climbing onto the cabin. He found her sprawled out on the wooden surface, a hand pillowed behind her head while a book lay face down on her chest. The large bird that accompanied her raised its head in alertness to his presence. For a second, Marco was reminded of how Stefan, their resident war dog would react whenever anyone came near Whitebeard. When they'd left their nursing staff at that island, Stefan had stayed with them since Whitebeard was adamant about not bringing him.

"Calm, Oru." The assassin told the bird, reaching up to gently stroke its crown. The bird leaned into her touch, cawing softly in response as it settled down once again. "Good girl."

"She's very obedient." Marco commented, unsure how to start a conversation. While he had questions that he wanted answers to, he wasn't sure if he should ask her directly.

"If you have questions then just say it out loud." Rainha replied as if reading his mind. "And sit down, tall guy. You're blocking my view."

He obliged and sat down a little aways from her. Close enough to hear her clearly, but still outside her personal space. Below them, the noises of the crew could still be heard, but Marco thought it was a little too quiet. The assassin didn't speak and was obviously waiting for him, so he asked the one thing that was one his mind.

"What did you and Oyaji talk about earlier?"

She threw him a sideways glance. "My records don't specify it, but you're the first mate, no?" He laughed at the title she had given him, earning a dry glare from the assassin. God knows he hadn't been referred to as the first mate for a long time. Most people now only knew him as the first commander.

"I guess I am, in a way." He replied. "Most know me as the first commander nowadays."

Snorting, she sat up and Oru automatically shifted closer so her mistress so she could lean against her.

"I made a proposal to your captain." She said as she closed the book and put it back in her bag.

"A proposal?"

"Yes. You didn't forget who your enemy is, did you?"

The first commander's azure eyes turned dark at the mention. Of course, he didn't forget. The horrible betrayal that had scarred them all and ultimately led to Ace's capture was forever etched into their minds. Not only that, because of it, that person was almost killed…It was impossible to forget.

The assassin was apparently really good at reading people, because when Rainha spoke next, he was almost positive that the assassin could read minds,

"Yeah, I didn't think so." She looked up, her different coloured eyes meeting his azure ones. "Anyway, I expect that Whitebeard will tell you about the proposal soon. I did say to give me an answer within two days." Subsequently, she got up and stretched. "I'll be retiring now. Commander. Good Night." With that, she jumped off the cabin and headed below deck, presumably to the extra room they had allocated her when she mentioned that they'd be staying.

Moments after she had left, Marco realised that the Black Queen had never given him an actual answer to his question.

* * *

 _The heat was suffocating._

 _Footsteps sounded in the dark alleys of a village as a man rushed past, a young girl following closely behind._

 _"Hurry, we have to make it to the cove!"_

 _"But your injuries…!"_

 _"There's no time for it now!"_

 _Frowning, the girl obeyed the man's words and continued running, even though she obviously thought otherwise. Looking at him-an arm limply hanging at his side-left a bitter taste in her mouth. As she ran, her thoughts drifted back to the events leading to their current predicament, and she cursed herself for letting that man get the better of them. If only…she shook her head, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to be distracted now, not when both their lives were on the line. She kept running._

 _Breath coming in short, ragged, pants, the man and girl came to a stop at the edge of a cliff. Checking behind them for signs of their pursuer and finding none, the two quickly jumped down the side to land on a ledge that led all the way down to a small cove hidden between the cliffs._

 _Halfway down, the man stumbled as the blood loss from his wounds caught up to him, and the girl only barely managed to catch him. The movement sent several loose pebbles over the edge, though silent, it was enough to draw unwanted attention._

 _"Down there!" Someone shouted from above them. Immediately, the sound of soled boots pounding into the ground could be heard. The girl felt a chill creep down her back as she comprehended their current situation. They had been found! Looking around, her frown deepened as she saw that they were still a considerable distance above sea level. A relatively high jump, but she could manage. Under normal circumstances, she would, but now…she looked at her companion. He was obviously in no shape to make the jump. Unwilling to leave him behind, she lifted him onto her back as much as she could and started to shuffle along the ledge._

 _A glob of liquid heat streaked past, and she suddenly cried out, clutching at her side. When she removed her hands, they came away stained with blood._

 _"Leave me…" The man said, barely conscious._

 _"NO!"_

 _"You should listen to your master, little girl."_

 _A foreign voice interrupted, and the girl froze in fear. That voice…she dared not to look back. That voice belonged to their pursuer, the one who had given both their wounds._

 _"Sorry man," The man spoke shakily, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I'm afraid my apprentice listens to no one."_

 _Their pursuer, a man dressed in a marine coat with a hood over his white cap, chuckled._

 _"Is that so?" He took a step forward. "In that case, this will be the end for you both!"_

 _He lunged._

 _A hand pushed against the girl, and with exerted force, pushed her off the ledge._

 _As she fell, a magma coated fist plunged through the man's chest. For a moment, she thought she saw someone else._

 _The weightlessness and fear gripped her, and she closed her eyes…_

Startling awake, Rainha took a moment to grasp her surroundings. She was breathing heavily as she wiped away the cold sweat that had broken out. Calming her racing heart, she remembered where she was: a guest room aboard the Moby Dick. Suddenly, she felt something nudge her lightly in the side and turned to see her avian companion who cooed softly at the distraught in her mistress' eyes. She managed a small smile. "Sorry girl. Did I wake you?" She asked as she scratched the large bird's scruff. Oru cooed again, a little louder this time.

"It's nothing I haven't had before, Oru. But…" Instinctively, the bird edged closer to the bed and Rainha wrapped her arms around her, relishing in the warmth her companion's soft, downy feathers provided. "I miss him. You do too, don't you girl?"

Oru cooed again, rubbing her head against her mistress.

Rainha pulled away, and got out of bed. Reaching for her bag, she brought out a pocket watch and checked the time.

 _3 am_.

She looked back at Oru, a smile spreading on her face.

"What do you say we go for a short flight?"

* * *

Sabo was startled awake by the sudden ringing of his transponder snail.

Looking over to the side, he released the breath he was holding when he saw that Ace was still fast asleep.

Reaching inside his hat, he took the transponder snail and answered it. He would've gone out, but there were others in the larger room that was the main part of the infirmary. He figured he'd be safer in here.

As soon as he did, a loud screech that was all too familiar erupted from the small animal. Holding it as far as he could, Sabo waited until his ears stopped ringing before speaking to the person on the other end. The conversation was mostly one-sided, with the other end constantly shrieking at him for his apparent irresponsibility despite multiple reminders to quiet down. He was lucky that Ace was a deep sleeper and wouldn't wake until morning unless someone tried anything against Luffy.

However, he still didn't want to risk it, so Sabo quickly ended the call. Feeling sleep eluding him, Sabo decided to go for a walk topside, maybe get some fresh air.

Before that, he pulled up the blanket covering Ace, tucking it in so that it wouldn't fall off. When he saw Ace drooling on the sheets, he couldn't stop himself from snickering. Thinking back to all the times Ace would vehemently deny that he drooled when they still lived on Mount Corvo, he decided to take a picture. As proof, he said to himself and subsequently snapped one using a camera he had stolen from the marines.

In his moment of glee, however, he didn't notice as Luffy twitched ever so slightly.

 _Ace…_


	6. Chapter 6

And...i finally updated.

Heads up, this chapter wasn't beta'd because my dear beta has been MIA for like, two months now. So the chapter might not be as good quality-wise..I did my best though.

Anyways, this chapter was sort of a birthday challenge for me. I probably wouldn't have updated as fast if I wasn't turning 18 today (I swore to myself I'd update on my birthday) XD so yeah, enjoy.  
Drop a review if you can.

Thank you.

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.

* * *

 _Damn it._ Marco cursed as he checked the time for the fourth time that night.

It was freaking 3 in the morning and he was still wide awake.

Flopping back onto his bed, he wondered if his earlier nap was the cause, but waved it away immediately. He'd taken naps before, and had never failed to sleep at night, so why was he tossing and turning in bed now?

A brief image of Rainha flashed through his mind, and Marco turned onto his stomach and groaned into the pillow. _Stop thinking about her Marco stop thinking stop thinking stop thinking…_ he chanted in his mind, trying the push out all thoughts of the black-haired woman. However, due to the anti-effect principle, the more he tried to push her out, the more she was determined to stay rooted in his head. Giving up, he turned to stare at the ceiling. The hole that had been there earlier had been temporarily covered up with a tarp, making it stand out from the rest of the ceiling.

Ever since he met Rainha, he found his thoughts turning to her often. He wasn't attracted to her per se-although he couldn't deny that the Black Queen was quite beautiful-but she was interesting. For an instance, the Phoenix wondered what she would look like if she ** _really_** smiled. The _happy-from-the-bottom-of-your-heart_ genuine kind of smile, not the faint, shallow ones she'd displayed so far.

 _She'd look like an angel._ A traitorous voice sounded in the depths of his mind.

 _Shut up, brain._ The blonde retorted. He definitely did ** _not_** think that.

With nothing to do and unable to sleep, Marco played back his conversations with Rainha in his mind. When he recalled the conversation before she asked to see their captain, he noticed something that had missed earlier. She had said she was there when Ace said that his father was Oyaji, right? Marco didn't recall anything of the kind, so it must've happened before they arrived. Which would mean the assassin, and most likely Sabo too, had been at Marineford the entire time since the execution started. Groaning, he draped his arm across his eyes. Looks like there's something else to add to his list of questions.

And he still couldn't sleep.

Distracted, he didn't notice the two presences that swoop by the porthole in his room.

* * *

Come morning, Marco found himself staggering out of bed, barely able to keep his eyes open as he made his way to the galley. He had fallen asleep-finally-around 4. And now he was up at approximately 6 in the morning.

 _Coffee would be good now…_ he thought sleepily. Despite having washed his face with ice cold water earlier, he still felt like falling back into bed, but at the thought of all the work that still needed to be done, he decided that he could sleep after he'd finished.

Didn't mean he didn't feel like ditching it though.

He was simply responsible.

Of course, it was partly his own fault, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Stifling a yawn, he entered the large galley, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and breakfast chasing away the sleepiness somewhat. There weren't a lot of people around now so it was quiet. Then he saw someone he didn't usually see now. Seated at a table near the kitchens was Ace and his brother and sister, eating breakfast and conversing quietly.

Something was very wrong with this picture.

Then he realized what.

Ace-overprotective, doting, stubborn nii-chan Ace-was in the galley, with his two other siblings, eating breakfast.

What happened to not leaving his little brother at the mercy of the ship doctor?

And shouldn't he be still sleeping?

Marco knew for a fact that the second commander never woke up earlier than nine, at most eight but right now it was only half past six.

Way too early.

And he was talking quietly and eating slowly.

"Yo Marco! Late night?" One of the cooks, Michal called out, balancing two large stacks of waffles as he headed to one of the long tables at the end of the room.

"Kind of." He replied, grabbing a tray from a nearby shelf and joined the cook at the table. He looked over the buffet that they had laid out for breakfast, taking a little of everything. "What's up with Ace over there? He's not this quiet normally." Tipping his head in their direction, he asked as he poured maple syrup over a stack of waffles.

"Don't know. He's been like that since his sis dragged him in here about ten minutes ago." Michal shrugged and raised an eyebrow at the abnormally small amount of food on his plate.

"Is that all you're eating? You usually eat more."

Marco grabbed a cup from the stack and filled it with coffee. "I'm not really hungry. Besides, I think I need coffee more than breakfast now."

The cook looked over the commander with a critical eye and nodded. "You definitely need it. And possibly ten more."

The first commander simply rolled his eyes at the chef's observations.

"Oi Michal, quit dawdling out there! We're working our asses off in 'ere!" Someone yelled from the kitchen.

"That's my cue. See ya later, Commander!"

Stifling another yawn, Marco made his way across the room, tray in hand, and slid in beside Ace.

"Morning."

"Good morning, Commander." Rainha greeted simply without raising her head, but Sabo looked up from his plate, half a waffle dangling from his mouth. "Morning, Marco-san." He said after gulping down the waffle.

Ace on the other hand, waved a hand in greeting, too busy stuffing his face to speak.

Digging into his breakfast, Marco listened to his ship-brother and his siblings as they talked about various things. Mind still clouded with sleep, it took him several moments before he realized Rainha's attire had changed to a more casual one. Instead of the form-fitting black coat, she wore a dark-blue top that had mid length sleeves. Her long hair was slung in a loose braid over her shoulders, tied together at the end with a rubber band. A pair of silver stud earrings and a pendant adorned her ears and neck. She looked like any normal woman, though she was anything but normal.

Not normal including her choice of breakfast.

Both Sabo and Ace had huge mugs of coffee next to them. Rainha's, while equally large, was anything but coffee. What else could that smooth-looking, milky brown, sweet-smelling drink be except hot chocolate? Compared to her drink, her actual breakfast was relatively normal, consisting of pancakes and scrambled eggs, although it was a normal serving, unlike her brothers.

Marco blinked wearily. "Why are you drinking hot chocolate?" He asked, his brain not quite connected with his mouth yet.

The assassin blinked back. Just when he thought she wouldn't answer…

"I don't like coffee."

The blonde commander blinked again. _Okay…?_

A loud plop sounded next to him, distracting him from his thoughts about coffee and _how the hell is she even awake without coffee_ , and he sighed. Without looking, he reached out and grabbed a fistful of Ace's black locks, lifting his face from the cereal bowl. Seconds later, Ace returned to consciousness and Rainha handed him a napkin to towel off the milk and cereal.

 _Somehow, Ace falling asleep in his breakfast-as usual-feels like the only normal thing today._

* * *

Breakfast went by uneventfully, and soon the crew started to wake up, slowly trickling into the gallery for breakfast.

Rainha finished hers quickly, only hanging around to wait for the two black holes she called brothers to finish theirs.

Marco, on the other hand, was on his fourth cup of coffee. Even drinking it black, he still felt bone-tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. But, of course, someone up there hates him, so minutes after he started on his fifth cup, one of the night watch came in and headed straight for him.

"Commander Marco." The man addressed. Marco recognised him as one of the crew he had assigned to keep watch on Whitebeard, lest he tried to sneak out of bed-again-to look for the alcohol the medical team had hidden with complete approval from all the commanders-for his health's sake-before the doctors cleared him. The old man was surprisingly stealthy for someone of his stature.

He hummed a reply, indicating the man to go on.

"Oyaji has called a commanders meeting. He wants you all to meet immediately after breakfast."

Ten minutes after breakfast, Marco, along with Ace, arrived at the Moby Dick's meeting room, or as the crew loved to dub it, the 'war room'. Rainha and Sabo had followed them out of the galley, but had headed to the infirmary instead to sit with their youngest brother.

When they entered, Whitebeard and the other commanders were already seated and were only waiting for them. Greeting their captain, both took a seat on Whitebeard's right, Marco first, then Ace, and then the other commanders in numerical order which ended with Izo directly opposite Marco.

Ace, seeing the large number of bandages that adorned Whitebeard, automatically lowered his head, unable to face his father. The old captain noticed immediately and set his mug that he had been drinking from down.

"Ace, we've talked about this yesterday." Whitebeard reminded. He hated seeing his children look so dejected at his expense. They shouldn't have to feel guilty about things that weren't in their control.

His other sons noticed too, and voiced their agreement.

In the blink of an eye, Ace found himself surrounded by his ship-brothers whose overprotectiveness had spiked where it concerned their youngest.

Behind the commotion, Whitebeard shot a look at his eldest. You already know what this is about, don't you?

Marco nodded, to which the captain responded to with a nod of his own and indication towards the other pirates in the room.

He understood perfectly, and then proceeded to loudly clear his throat, effectively plugging the noise for a short moment.

"As much as I'd like to join you guys in scolding Ace for being an idiot, we're here for a meeting, remember?"

With several 'yes sir's, the other commanders returned to their respective seats.

"So," The first commander started, his tone serious. "You guys have all met Rainha, right?"

The commanders nodded.

"What do you guys think of working with her?" He asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. His question seemed to have caught everyone else except him and Oyaji off guard, if the surprise on their faces were any indication.

"Say what now?" Vista asked, his hand twisted halfway in his curled moustache. "What do you mean 'working with her'?"

The blonde commander looked up at Whitebeard with a look that clearly conveyed 'your turn'.

"Rainha made us a proposal on behalf of Noite yesterday." Whitebeard started, coughing a little at the end of his sentence. Izo, who was seated closest to him besides Marco, quickly pushed a mug of water towards him, which was quickly downed by the large man.

Haruta, the unofficial intelligence of the crew, perked up in interest. "What kind of proposal?"

The elderly captain looked around the room, meeting the eyes of his children. "A trade. Noite wants Teach, in return, they will provide us with information on his movements…"

 _"Whitebeard-san. I have a proposal for you." The Black Queen said, cutting straight to the point._

 _"Oh?" Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What does a young lass like you want, eh?"_

 _"Actually, I'm simply acting on orders of our leader."_

 _Contrary to others who usually cowered in his presence, the assassin was as cool as a cucumber, her voice and posture unwavering as she explained the details of the proposal to the Yonko._

 _Being an organization whose activities required unthinkable amounts of information, Noite's information network was one of the largest around, having metaphorical hands in the underworld, the marines and even the government itself._

 _It was on this basis that Noite had made its proposal._

 _As Marshall D. Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard was a traitor of the Whitebeard crew, there was no doubt that the revered crew would hunt him down, especially since he had handed in one of theirs to the government which resulted in the recent war. After fleeing the war, he would undoubtedly lie low for a while to recover, and so would those who had sustained damage in the war. It was unlikely they would cross paths anytime soon, so the assassin's guild-who apparently have a bone to pick with the man-would provide his former crew with information concerning his whereabout and activities. In return, all they wanted was custody of Blackbeard and his crew after the Whitebeards have defeated him._

 _When she finished, Whitebeard reached up to caress his moustache as he pondered over the offer made to him._

 _"That does sound like him." The Yonko commented, remembering the many times he and the now assassin king had crossed paths. The proposal Rainha had just offered him sounded a lot like something his old friend would do._

 _"I will have to discuss this with my sons first." He told the assassin._

 _"Understood. I'll be awaiting your reply then. However, do be quick as I have other engagements to tend to."_

 _"We will."_

 _"Well then." Rainha gave a slight bow. "Since our business has been concluded, I shall take my leave. Do rest well, Whitebeard-san."_

 _Without another word, she turned to leave, reaching the door before the old veteran called out to her._

 _"Thanks for the save back there."_

 _She halted in her steps, glancing back at the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, bathed in the golden light of sunset that spilled through the portholes._

 _"I only did it for Ace."_

 _Then she was gone._

Whitebeard chuckled as he finished. "She's an interesting one, that girl." The sentiment was apparently shared by his sons.

"So basically," Marco summarized. "Ace's sister offered us information on Blackbeard for literally nothing except custody of him and his crew after we beat them."

Whitebeard nodded, downing another glass of water. "I'd like to hear what you all think."

"To be honest, I don't see why we'd need their help." The fourteenth commander, Jiru spoke up. "Our information network is as widespread as theirs, we could easily gather the information ourselves."

"True." Haruta agreed. "But Noite's network extends to even the underworld, where, for your information, we don't have access to. At least, not as much as I would like to have."

Whitebeard nodded in agreement. "Haruta's right. Not to mention Linlin might take advantage of this opportunity while we are recovering to attack us."

"She has had her sights set on Fishman Island for a while now." Blenheim mused.

"Huh."

"Why would they want Teach and his crew though?" Vista wondered, stroking his moustache.

"Information maybe?" Haruta replied, a knuckle under his chin. "I mean, they might have information that Noite wants."

"Likely." Blenheim said.

"Can we really trust her?" Marco asked. Despite his interest in her, she was still an unknown factor and he didn't trust her completely even though Rainha was Ace's sister.

Ace apparently took offence at the question, his brow creasing into a frown, but he didn't say anything. He knew the first commander was just being responsible. If he wasn't Rainha's brother, he would've done the same.

Kingdew leaned back in his chair, arms crossed in front of him. "She hasn't proved herself otherwise yet."

"Who cares why they want him?" Rakuyo snorted. "We get to beat 'em up and that's the important part, isn't it?"

Everyone suddenly shut up, and the seventh commander panicked at the silence. "What?!"

Slowly, vicious grins started to form on every face in the vicinity, some more so than others, but surprisingly Whitebeard's was the most vicious of all, even if he didn't look it.

"What he said." Namur smirked, baring his extremely sharp teeth. Everyone else nodded.

Marco looked around, and concluded. "So, we take it?" He asked, though it wasn't really a question because he knew what their answer would be.

It was just rhetoric.

Agreement sounded out around the table.

Looking up at their captain, Marco inquired. "So, should we send someone to get her?"

"No." The old captain grinned. "I'll meet her later. For now," He instinctively took a swig from his mug, only grimacing when he was reminded that it held plain water instead of alcohol.

"Fill me in on what you brats-including our allies-have been up to since you forced me on bedrest and let the medical team confiscate all the alcohol."

* * *

"Captain, Commander Marco is calling." Standing outside the captain's quarters, the first mate of the Maelstrom Spider PIrates knocked on the door, hoping to receive an answer from his captain.

"Captain, would you please answer?" When he received no answer, his first mate called again, a slight hint of exasperation creeping into his voice. This was the fifth time the first commander had called them today, and adding the seven calls they had received yesterday, it was the twelfth time. Honestly, the Maelstrom Spider captain's avoidance of the Whitebeards was getting sort of ridiculous, but the man knew he couldn't blame his captain.

Since they had successfully escaped Marineford, Squard had left his deputy in charge of their crew and shut himself away in his quarters, not even bothering to eat or drink. At first, his crew had wisely given their captain the space they knew he needed after what had transpired during the war to sort himself out, but the day after, when Marco called, asking to talk to Squard, the pink-haired captain had all but faked being asleep to avoid having to talk to the person on the other end of the line. The first mate had told the Whitebeard on the phone that their captain was sleeping, though he knew Squard was anything but.

He knew his captain too well to know that the man would still be plagued by guilt for what he had done. To Whitebeard, Ace and all their friends and allies.

Although he wasn't sure if Marco believed his excuse. Probably not...his title wasn't for show, after all.

But even so…

"Captain!" The first mate called out insistently. "Avoiding Marco isn't going to change anything, I'm sure you're aware of that."

"..."

"Marco says that Oyaji's fine, he's been temporarily confined to bedrest but otherwise okay. Ace is too. Everyone else is as well as can be. But he wants to know how are you?"

"..."

"I can answer for the crew and myself, but I can't answer for you. Not when you've locked yourself up like this."

"..."

"Captain, you'll have to face this whether you like it or not. I'll leave the transponder here, Marco is still on the line."

Without another word, the first mate left.

Moments later, the door creaked open and a pale hand extended from within, grabbing the snail lying on the floor before retracting and closing the door again.

Inside the room, Squard sat against the bed, staring at the transponder in his hand. The person on the other end had apparently heard him moving, because a familiar voice soon sounded from the snail.

"Squard?"

"Marco."

The Phoenix chuckled good-naturedly when he heard the allied captain's voice. "Finally came out of your shell, Squard?"

"Aedris* wouldn't leave me alone…"

"So I heard." The snail's smirking face morphed into a serious expression. "Squard, how are you?"

Squard stiffened at the question. The blatant concern in Marco's question was felt like an arrow through his chest, and the guilt that had been sitting on his mind intensified. He didn't deserve the care that Whitebeards were showing. Not after he had betrayed them at Marineford…

"Oyaji believes in second chances, Squard." Marco replied when he revealed his thoughts. "We all understand why you did it, even if we don't appreciate your stabbing Oyaji in the chest. Oyaji already forgave you, remember? Don't blame yourself too much."

"And Ace?" Squard asked, a little nervous. "How is he?"

"He's as good as can be." The Phoenix laughed. "I almost forgot. Ace wanted me to tell you that you'll always be a brother to him, if that's what you're worried about."

The Maelstrom Spider captain unconsciously let out a breath when he heard that Ace had forgiven him. The fire brat was decades younger than him, but the raven had an aura about him that rivalled his captain's. Though it rarely showed, the few occasions it did were ones that most of those present preferred to forget. The way those grey eyes, normally full of life and fire suddenly still and turn to cold ash sent a bone-chilling fear down the spines of whoever met them.

"Come by sometime, I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you."

"...I will."

Both men hung up simultaneously after exchanging coordinates.

On the Moby Dick, Marco broke into a grin as he placed the receiver down.

 _Squard's in for a big surprise._

* * *

Since the war ended, Aokiji had shut himself away in his office, only leaving once for an impromptu meeting Sengoku had called, and even then, his hadn't been focused on whatever the Fleet Admiral had said, his mind too preoccupied with what he had been told yesterday.

 _"What are you doing here, Rainha?" Aokiji asked as he shifted into a standing position, wary of the blade that was pressing ever so slightly. The blade didn't look like much, but being in direct contact with it, he knew the blade was more than it seemed. It sapped him of his powers, weakening him, but not enough to incapacitate him._

 _It was a sea stone weapon._

 _His eyes were strictly trained on the space in front of him, but he still felt the change in the atmosphere. The background noise decreased drastically, as if everyone knew that Rainha was about to speak, and had instinctively gone silent._

 _"I'm surprised you're asking." She spoke after a moment, her voice loud amidst the silence. "You should know, Admiral."_

 _"Indeed, I do." The ice user replied. His expression gave away nothing, but inside, he was starting to feel a little nervous. He knew very well what the assassin had meant by her question, though how she knew about what had transpired on that lost island twenty years ago was a mystery to him._

 _"Then don't ask meaningless questions." She countered. "But I must know, if things come down to what I think it may, where will you stand?"_

 _"And why are you asking?"_

 _"Reasons. Now answer."_

 _Aokiji shrugged._

 _"Wherever justice is, I suppose."_

 _"Is that so?" He heard her ponder for a moment, then suddenly, he felt the pressure disappear. He was surprised by his sudden return of freedom that he didn't even register himself turning around to look at her._

 _"You're letting me go?" The admiral asked, not quite understanding the assassin's actions._

 _"You're a good man, Admiral." She answered. "Besides, you won't be here for long."_

The Black Queen had said he knew what she was doing at Marine Ford, and he did.

 ** _Ohara._**

 ** _Nico Robin._**

 ** _Portgas D. Ace._**

Despite their differences, the circumstances surrounding both were similar.

Too similar, in fact.

One, hunted since childhood simply because she bore the title of 'Archaeologist'.

One, hated for existing since birth due to the identity of his father.

Both were innocent beneath the crimes pushed onto them by the world before they accepted their fates and lived life as they pleased.

Twenty years ago, he had spared Robin's life, allowing her to go free.

Yesterday, the assassin had saved Ace from Akainu, allowing him to return to his family.

Both Aokiji and Rainha had given someone whose existence was a sin to the world a chance to escape the government.

Deep down, the admiral knew that the government was rotten to the core, and the marines along with it.

 _Ha, upholders of Justice, we call ourselves._ He scoffed. _It'd only be true if the government was as just as they like people to think._

A knock on the door drew him from his thoughts.

"Fleet Admiral?" Opening the door, he was greeted by Sengoku who looked tired as hell.

"Hello, Kuzan." The older man inclined his head in greeting, calmly stepping past the door held open by the admiral into the dimly lit office.

It didn't escape Sengoku that several throw pillows were tossed onto the floor in front of the couch set in the middle of the room. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No, I was just thinking." Aokiji shook his head. "Is there something you need, Sir?"

"Yes, there's something I need to discuss with you."

…

…...

"In light of that, I've decided to recommend you for the position." Sengoku calmly disclosed as he sipped on a cup of tea.

Opposite him, Aokiji stared at him unblinkingly. "What?"

"I intend to recommend you for the position of Fleet Admiral."

"..."

The Blue Pheasant accepted.

He had said it after all.

"Wherever justice is, I suppose."

He didn't want the position, but if taking it meant Sakazuki and his twisted notion of Absolute Justice wouldn't drag the marines deeper into inky depths, he would gladly do so.

He was after all, a marine.

* * *

Sabo sat alone in the infirmary of the Moby Dick-Rainha had left a while ago, saying she had work to attend to-absently watching the rise and fall of his little brother's chest as the boy slept.

 _He's grown up._ That was all that came to mind.

The Revolutionary had played out his reunion with his brothers many times over the years, but never had he thought they would be reunited under circumstances like this.

Ace and Luffy were free spirits, always energetic and full of life.

They should never be in chains.

 _Never._

But they had been.

The previous day, after Rainha had left with the first commander, Sabo had told those remaining a censored version of how he had regained his memories, but when he and Ace finally got their privacy, the past ten years had spilled automatically. He left out certain topics and sensitive details, of course. Brother or not, the younger blonde still took his responsibilities as the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff seriously. He wouldn't disclose anything that could possibly endanger the organization to others.

Ace had made this weird face when he mentioned Dragon being Luffy's dad, but he had expected that. It was surprising to hear that the Dragon was the father of this kid who was pretty much the biggest idiot ever.

Apparently this idiot also held the crown for craziest rookie ever. Or so he'd heard.

But that was besides the point.

After he had finished his story, Ace had told him all that happened on their side after he 'died', leaving nothing out.

To hear how much they had suffered after losing him, it felt like someone had had a hand around his heart and was squeezing down hard.

"I'm sorry. "He'd told Ace, but deep down, he knew that would never be enough to atone for the pain he caused them.

His brother had told him it was alright since he was here now and subsequently led him to Luffy's room, where Sabo had gotten to see their little brother carefully for the first time. The brief contact during the war wasn't enough for him to really look at Luffy.

He was deathly pale, lying asleep on the stark white sheets.

 _He shouldn't be lying here._ Sabo thought. Luffy was always a hyperactive ball of sunshine that couldn't sit still for over 5 minutes, even though he had matured and grown stronger since the blonde last saw him, that fact had never changed. Perhaps it was just his mindset as an older brother acting up, in which their little brother would always remain that young child who needed them to protect him.

"Jinbe said he overexerted himself. He would have tired out a long time ago if it wasn't

for that okama." Ace said quietly. "Cent* said that he's probably gonna be like this for a week or so."

He went silent as the words sunk in.

"Ace…?" Sabo spoke. "How did you get captured?"

…

"I underestimated the bastard."

"I figured as much." The younger of the two muttered. "You never change."

The raven humphed, averting his eyes to the side. "Like you would know when you were MIA for 10 years." There was a hint of bitterness and blame in his voice, but his brother didn't back down despite the twinge of guilt in his chest.

"Your actions at Marineford proved as much." Sabo shot back, his tone taking an icy dip. "How many times have me and Nee-chan told you to hold your temper in front of an enemy?"

Ace's bit down on his lower lips, unable to retort.

Sabo didn't push him. He knew they were both stressed from recent events so kept quiet instead.

He, however, didn't anticipate the sudden punch that was thrown his way, allowing Ace to land a solid blow on his face.

The blonde stumbled a little, but balanced himself out immediately and sent a questioning glare towards his brother.

"That's for leaving us for so long."

…...

Sabo fingered the bruise he received recently, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I guess this is proof, right?" He mumbled. Proof that he was here with them. His family.

The only other occupant in the room didn't reply.

"Wake up soon, lil' bro."

 _Ace..?_

"Me, Ace and Nee-chan are all waiting for you."

 _Wait…this voice?..._

 _...Sabo?_

* * *

At the same time, in different places in the world, news of the war finally reached the people there.

As they finished the paper, all eight simultaneously looked to the sky, one single thought running through their minds.

 _Luffy, are you safe?_

* * *

*Aedris: Maelstrom Spider PIrate first mate

*Cent: One of the WB's male doctors


End file.
